Nightfall
by MulanHua
Summary: ... I turned around to thank him. But when I looked back he wasn't standing there where I had left him anymore. ... It was as if he had simply vanished. Like the sun, to free the sky for a clear moonless night. -Nightfall-
1. Prologue

–**Prologue–**

"Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday, dear Chloe! Happy Birthday to you! _Yay!_"

Cheers and applause filled our little house when I blew off all the candles at once.

"I hope you didn't forget to make a wish, _ma chérie_," Granny said with a smile.

"Of course not," I assured her and smiled back.

"What did you wish, Chloe?" Janette asked curiously and nudged my shoulder with her finger teasingly.

I shook my head. "Top secret."

She pouted playfully. "Oh, come on, Chloe," she urged. "Tell us, _s'il te plait_."

Chantal, who was sitting next to me, started to laugh. "Don't force our birthday princess, Janette. You know she mustn't tell you, or the wish won't come true."

Granny nodded, still smiling. "_C'est correct_," she approved in French.

Janette made an "Hmpf"- sound and folded her arms in front of her chest. Her pout wasn't just acted anymore.

"I'm sorry, Janette," I apologized and hugged her.

"No long faces on a birthday, _mes enfants_," Mom said smiling and handed each one of us a plate with a piece of her handmade chocolate-cake.

Janette's face lightened up when she saw the wonderful smelling cake in front of her. I was relieved. Granny told me that I had always been like a flower – closing and opening its petals according to the atmosphere around.

"When will Daddy be home, Mommy?" I asked between two bites. The cake was delicious. It was like eating a cloud with chocolate aroma.

"In the evening perhaps," she answered. Then her expression became more serous. "And don't talk while you are eating, young lady."

I nodded sheepishly, "closing my petals" again.

"Don't be like that," Granny appeased her daughter. "It's her birthday. I can't remember being so strict on _your_ sixth birthday, _my petite fille_."

"_Oui, oui, maman_," Mom laughed and we kids laughed with her.

When our stomachs were all filled with cake, cookies and other delicious sweets Mom had made, I went out with my friends to play hide-and-seek. It was one of my favourite games, especially when we went in the forest at which's border our village was located. We played all afternoon. It was one of my happiest memories. We ran around under the beautiful August sun which's heat was a little covered by the trees emerald leaves, and laughed absolutely satisfied with the moment.

Much too soon time ran away and the sun started to wander to the West horizon.

"One last round," Antoine suggested. The rest of us nodded in agreement. "Who's the seeker?"

"Always the one who asks," his little sister Chantal replied with a smug grin. She had always had a very fast tongue. We laughed.

"_Bien_," Antoine obeyed, turned around to cover his eyes at a tree and started counting. "One… two… three… four…"

We giggled and tried to run as silently and fast as possible to find a good hideout. Antoine's voice became quieter with each step I took. I didn't know how far I went. But I didn't feel exhausted so I assumed that I wasn't that far away from the others. After a while of running I stepped into a little meadow that I had never seen before.

Sunlight shied through the endless high trees and dived each single blade of grass and flower into a warm gold gleam. There was a fallen tree trunk which looked in the late sunlight more amber than brown.

I stepped closer and discovered that it was empty. I smiled satisfied. – The perfect hideout. I climbed in and pressed my hands to my mouth like I always did, so my giggle wouldn't betray me. I sat in the trunk like that for a while and waited.

Nobody came.

_Good job, Chloe._ I praised myself silently and pressed my hands harder to my mouth.

Another ten minutes passed. It was still quiet around me. Only my racing heartbeat and my choked giggles could be heard. I kept waiting patiently.

After a while I started to wonder where my friends where so I looked out and I noticed that the sun had almost vanished. I stopped giggling.

What if my hideout was too good?

I listened closely. It was perfectly silent.

What if I had run too far?

I peaked our of the tree trunk. No movements around me; not even the slightest breeze.

What if they couldn't find me?

Panic hit me like a bolt. I jumped to my feet and started to run back. But somehow the trees looked all the same in the dim light. My head spun from one direction to another, so the girdle of flowers Chantal had made me before fell from my long blonde hair. But I was too panicked to pick it up.

Where was I? Where were my friends? Where was the way home?

I espied a dim light in the distance and smiled relieved. That must be the light from my village. I ran towards that direction.

But the smile on my face disappeared when I saw where the light was coming from. It was the meadow that was enlighten by the last sun rays. I bit my lip.

I had been running in a circle.

I fell to my knees and started crying. I lost my way. I didn't know how to go home. I would die here!

No! I didn't want to die now! Daddy had promised to come home on my birthday. I had waited so long… but what should I do? I was lost… I would never see Mommy, Daddy or Granny again…

When I came to this thought the sobbing became stronger and my body started to shake.

"Help…" I managed to whimper although I knew that nobody would be able to hear me. "H-help…"

"Did you get lost?"

My head snapped up and I espied a tall figure at the other side of the meadow. Because of the distance I could only see that he had black messy hair and that he was dressed in a white shirt and a pair of dark trousers. I could also see that his skin was very pale, almost as white as his shirt. I had never seen him before.

"Wh-who are you?" I asked shyly.

"Did you get lost?" he repeated. I guessed he hadn't heard my question.

I nodded slowly, my body was still shaking.

"Follow me," he told me and turned around to go.

I got up and tripped behind him. Although I didn't know who he was I had the strange feeling that I could trust him.

He didn't slow down to wait for me. It was more the other way around. I had the feeling that he sped up when I tried to catch up with him. During the whole process he didn't turn back to face me once neither did he spoke a single word. I didn't know how long we walked "together" like this, but suddenly I heard a well-known voice calling me.

"Chloe!"

"Daddy!" I shouted back and started to run towards the voice to land directly in my father's arms.

"Here you are, _my petite fée_," he said and kneed down to me to his chest. I felt his breath on my head when he sighed in relief.

"Chloe!" Antoine called. He, too, looked very worried. "Where were you? We had looked for you _tout le monde_!"

His father and other men from my village appeared behind him. They all looked worried. Some of them sighed –like my father– in relief.

"I'm sorry," I apologized sheepishly and looked down at my feet guilty.

"It's fine, _ma chérie_. As long as you're not hurt then it's fine," Daddy assured me and lifted me in his arms. "Let's go home to calm your mother. She was completely messed up when I came home." He laughed to comfort me, but I still felt very bad for making them all worry.

And I had believed that I would die… How fortunate I was that I was founded by that kind man.

I turned around to thank him. But when I looked back he wasn't standing there where I had left him anymore, neither could I find him among the others who had looked for me.

It was as if he had simply vanished. Like the sun, to free the sky for a clear moonless night.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter1 –Meeting again–**

–Ten years later–

I got up early that morning, went washing my face and put on one of my favourite dress. It was pale green, almost white with light lavender frills and beautiful tiny like roses formed buttons. I loved the dress because Dad had brought it from town and Granny said that it went perfectly with my dark-green eyes.

I looked at my reflection in the washbowl and smiled.

Yes, that was the most important thing today. – Looking nice so Granny would be happy on her sixtieth birthday.

I combed my hair quickly and tied it in a slack bun – I would have to ask Mom to stake it in an elegant chignon for me later – and tiptoed downstairs.

Quietly I took a clean bucket and went out to the Milleux's who lived a few houses away from us.

"Good morning, _Monsieur_ Milleux," I greeted when I turned in the little courtyard.

"_Bonjour_, Chloe," he responded. "You are pretty early."

I paused. "Oh, sorry."

He laughed. "No need to apologize. Actually, Antoine is already up since five o'clock to get you the milk you wanted. He's waiting in the cowshed for you."

I smiled relieved. "_Merci_, _Monsieur_ Milleux," I said and then I headed to direction he had pointed at.

The cowshed was a simple hut made of wood and bricks. It smelled like hay, sweat and dung. The cows were already outside on the field; only one was left that was milked by a tall boy. He was covered in dirt and a few straws were plugged in his uncombed blond hair.

He looked up and smiled when he noticed me at the open door. "Morning, Chloe."

"Good morning, Antoine," I greeted back and stepped closer. "I'm sorry about bothering you."

"No, not at all," he objected kindly and took the bucket out of my hands. "Dad and Fabien said that they would go the woods today so I had to milk the cows today anyway."

I smiled. "Thank you, Antoine. What would I do without you?"

He bit his lip and continued his work to hide the delicate blush that made its way across his cheeks.

Antoine Milleux was one of my best friends and the most helpful person I had ever met. No matter when or what I asked him to do, he would drop everything in his hands immediately and help me. Chantal claimed that his behavior was due to the fact that he was in love with me but I didn't believe that theory. We were just simple friends, right?

I blushed at the thought that Antoine might be in love with… _me_ and shook my head fiercely to forget that weird idea.

"Is something wrong, Chloe?" he asked, recognizing my strange behavior.

I shook my head again. "No, no. All is fine."

He watched me sceptically for a second then he smiled. "_Bien_. Well, I've finished now. Should I accompany you home? The bucket is pretty heavy."

I nodded gratefully. The bucket _looked_ very heavy. "Only if it doesn't bother you."

He smiled. "Not at all. I need to move my legs after this anyway."

We walked to my house together, chatting and laughing happily. I looked up at the sky. It was June and summer was entering our little village at the Appalachian Mountains with sure steps.

"What a beautiful day," I commented, closing my eyes and appreciating the warm sun stroking my skin.

"Hmm…" Antoine agreed grinning. "I bet it's because today is your Grandmother's birthday."

I chuckled. "Sure it is."

Antoine helped me to get the milk in the kitchen, then he said "Good luck, I will come again later to congratulate your Grandmother" and left quietly to not wake up anyone in the house.

I inhaled deeply, getting ready to work and started putting all implements on our wooden dinning table. I planned to make an apple pie – Granny's favourite.

Carefully to not make my dress dirty and silently to not wake Mom or Granny up, I finished my work and pushed the cake in the old stone oven.

"Mmm… smells good," Mom said when she entered the room a few minutes later. "Well done, _ma chérie_." She placed a kiss on my cheek.

I smiled shyly. "_Merci_."

"Come. I will do your hair," she said and pushed me on a chair. She combed my long honey-colored hair with her skilled hands and staked it to an elegant chignon. I smiled satisfied at my reflection in the windows.

"_Merci_,_mamman_," I said.

She kissed my cheek again. "_Pas de problèmes_, _ma petite princesse_. " She handed me a basket. "Now, go and get some flowers. I will take care of the pie."

I nodded eagerly. At the door, I turned around again and asked, "Mommy? Daddy will arrive at sunset, right?"

"_Oui_," she approved.

I smiled delighted. I hadn't seen him for about a month and he had promised me to get me something very beautiful this time.

My father worked, unlike other men from our village, in the next big town Baltimore which was a day ride from our home. I didn't know what exactly he was working as but he earned enough money to support our whole family. Sometimes he even brought presents from town for me like the pretty dress I was wearing that day.

I entered the forest at which's border our village was located. The mild June sun shined through the different shaped leaves and transformed them into thousands of emeralds. A dreamy smile stretched across my face at the sight of this glamorous scenery.

It had been a similar day like this when I had met the strange foreigner man at the meadow. Since that day I had met to the meadow at least once a week, and if the weather didn't allow it I had been sitting in my room at the window and watched wishfully at the sky-stroking trees. But despite my efforts and hopes the mysterious man stayed vanished. I hadn't told anyone about him. – Even my best friend Chantal, with whom I usually shared all my secrets, didn't know anything about my unknown savior. But I so wanted to see him again and thank him for helping me ten years ago. If he hadn't appeared at that time, I probably would have been founded by some Grey Wolves, which lived in the woods here, rather than by my father and friends.

I sighed. "Who and where are you?" I asked quietly, but only the leaves' rustling answered when a light breeze touched them.

I continued my way in silence. Although there were many pretty flowers on my way I didn't stop once. I knew a place where the flowers were the most beautiful ones that I had ever seen and I needed to go there this week anyway.

I reached my target after about twenty minutes. At the beginning it had taken me more time to find it, but in the mean time I could find it with closed eyes.

The little meadow welcomed me with a choir of rustling leaves and warm sunlight. I smiled when I stepped on the colorful flower field.

Through the years I had seen this little meadow in all four seasons. The first time I had come here was in summer. From middle of June to July through August until the first September week the meadow was like a bright emerald island. Grass, leaves, moss – everything was green.

In autumn the green would fade, leaving beautiful warm colors like yellow, red or brown back. Then, every time when a cool breeze combed through the forest, the colorful leaves would slide to the ground, shining like crystals as if it was raining rubies and ambers.

In the last November- or the first December-week each year's first snow would fall, covering the meadow with a pure white carpet.

And then, when the first sunlight of spring touched the little meadow, the plants would start to wake up from their long sleep and break through the blanket of snow. From May until the first June-weeks the flowers here would be in their greatest glory.

Exactly the perfect time get a pretty bouquet for Granny's birthday.

I bended down and began to pluck some pretty light pink flowers.

"Happy Birthday to you… happy Birthday to you…" I sang while plucking one flower after another. "Happy Birthday, dear Granny… Happy Birthday to you…"

When I had got enough flowers I sat down on the fallen tree trunk which laid in the meadow and started to arrange and tie the flowers to a bouquet. The entire process took about an hour. I lifted the flowers to my nose and inhaled deeply when I had finished.

"Ah, lovely," I sighed.

I put my work in the basket and got up to leave for home when I heard a quiet noise behind me.

I paused and turned around slowly, listening concentrated to the noise. It wasn't very loud so I assumed that the source was something small. But it sounded very shrill and urgent at the same time, as if someone was asking for help.

Slowly and carefully, I stepped towards the direction where the sound was coming from. It was something at the bottom of a tree that localized the meadow. I walked closer and espied something brown and fluffy in the high grass. – It was a sparrow-fledgling.

I kneed down and stroked its tiny wing carefully with a finger. "Oh, how cute. Who are you?"

The little bird squeaked in response.

I smiled. "And where do you come from?" I looked up at the giant tree. Between the many layers of leaves I espied a small nest. "Did you fall out of up there?"

I got up and measured the height with my eyes. It wasn't very high and there were enough stabile branches to climb. I bended down again and picked the little fledging carefully from the ground. It flapped excited with its wings and squeaked.

"Don't be scared," I assured it. "I will help you."

I put it cautiously into my basket and stepped at the lowest branch. "Let's go."

With one steady flip I pulled myself on the branch. It swung slightly at my weight. The bird in my basket went on squeaking excitedly.

"Just a minute," I promised and reached for the next branch. "You will be home soon."

I continued my way like before step by step. Climb on one branch; reach for the next and then climb on the next one…

I had never climbed much when I was small. I had always been too fearful and worried to not be able to get down safely. But at the moment I shook all those thoughts off and concentrated on helping the little squeaking bird to get home.

I didn't know how long the whole process took, but sometime I finally reached the little bird's nest.

"_Voilà_. _Bienvenue à la maison_," I said and placed the tiny runaway back in its home where its siblings greeted it squeaking. I watched the four little "fluffy balls" for a while, then I decided to go home myself, too. "And don't make any tries to fly without your parents again," I reminded them and turned around to go down.

I froze. Did I actually climb so high? I hadn't appeared so high at the ground. I noticed that I had stopped breathing and took a deep draft of fresh air.

"Oh. My. _God_," I gasped. My voice was a few octaves too high. _Now_ I knew why I had never climbed on a tree before. I bite my lip. How was I supposed to get down now?

I turned back to the nest and swallowed. The little birds watched me with black curious beady eyes. I pressed my eyes shut and inhaled deeply to calm down. "Don't be a coward," I chanted to myself. "Don't be a coward. One of them has jumped out on its free will to learn flying. So don't be a coward."

I turned back and looked down, but this time I focused on the branches I had used to climb upwards. If they had helped me to get this high, I should be able to use them to get back to the ground safely again.

I took a last deep breath and checked whether my basked was still securely in my arm, then I started to climb down.

First branch… second branch… third branch…

"_Bien_, Chloe," I encouraged myself; my voice was still as high as the squeaking fledglings' "You can do this. Just don't look down…"

I don't remember when exactly, but at about the seventh branch my foot slipped form the smooth round wood. I lost my balance and feel with a shrill scream. I pressed my eyes hut and prepared myself for the painful landing. I didn't know how, but somehow I noticed a quiet rustling sound at my right, then I felt something hard and cold around my torso. A strong air draft pulled at my clothes, and then, in the next second, everything was still again.

I didn't dare to open my eyes; still waiting for the pain… But nothing came. Carefully, I blinked my eyes open.

And I froze.

"Are you okay?" the gorgeous creature asked with a deep velvet voice. He had pitch black messy hair that fell partly in his beautiful ochre eyes which shined like gold in the little sunlight that had found its way through the many layers of leaves. His skin was smooth and perfectly white, like snow. His face as longish and slender, his features were prominent but not hard. They were rather soft and warm with concern.

"Are you okay?" he repeated in that dreamlike velvet voice, his perfect lips moving in synchronization with the words.

I blinked dazzled. "Huh? What? Umm… y-yes," I stammered.

He nodded stiffly, but I believed that I had seen a relieved smile had twitched on his lips for a wink. "Do you think you can stand?" he demanded.

I didn't know whether I had reacted at all, but I must have approved his question somehow, because he had said "Good" and put me down on my feet carefully as if I was something hugely breakable.

That was the moment I had finally noticed that he had carried me. He had saved me… again.

"Th-thank you," I said, it wasn't louder than a whisper.

"You shouldn't have done that," he said, looking up at the tree of which I had fallen off. I guessed he hadn't heard my weak words. "The fledgling won't be accepted by its parents now anyway."

I blinked in irritation. "What do you mean?"

"Birds don't feed kids that had been touched by humans," he explained.

I looked up at the tree sadly. "D-do you mean it will…" I was unable to finish the sentence.

He nodded emotionlessly.

I bit my lip and lowered my head guilty. "I-I didn't mean to… I didn't want that… I…" My voice broke away at the end.

"It's not your fault," he comforted me with that soft voice of his. "You didn't know."

"Yes… b-but still… it's my fault i-if the little fledgling…" I sobbed.

He didn't say anything this time. It was absolutely silent around me and I feared that he was gone again. My head snapped up. I suppressed a sigh of relief. _He is still here._

He was watching me. A strange expression lied on his face. Maybe it was because we were standing in the shadow of the trees, but I thought that he looked _painful_ somehow. As if he was suffering in agony.

He controlled his features when he saw me staring at him. He cleared his throat. "You should go home now. Isn't your Grandmother waiting for your bouquet?"

"Ah," I made in realization. "Right… Granny…" I spun around, looking for my basket and found it on the ground a few feet away from me. I went to pick it up, but the bouquet wasn't in it anymore.

"Here," he suddenly said and held my bouquet in front of my face.

I stared at it, unable to move an inch. I had never received flowers from a boy before. I blushed.

He waited patiently. But then he noticed the embarrassing situation. He cleared his throat again and turned his face away. He looked ashamed. "Your Grandmother is waiting," he reminded me and placed the bouquet gently into my empty basked as if it was made of glass.

I followed his hand with my eyes. "Thank you," I said, my eyes still lingering shyly on the pink flowers.

No one responded. I looked up again and discovered that I was alone. He had vanished like he had ten years ago.

And then I finally recognized something.

How could he have known that this bouquet was for my Grandmother?

* * *

_woa... this's starting great... I wrote 10 pages... and that was just the FIRST Chapter!! XDDD omg.... my hand is gonna to have some kind of permanet damage because of my "Cannot-stop-writing-sickness" XDDDD_

_please review, so I'll know that the pain was worth it XDDD_

_-Mulan-_


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter2 –Not for humans–**

It was raining the next three days. A strong wind waved through the landscape, blowing big raindrops against the window behind which I was sitting at the moment. Outside, thick dark clouds overcastted the sky and the trees swung in synchronization with the wind.

I sighed. Why did it have to rain now? The weather had been so beautiful three days ago. How was it possible that the sun could be chased away by a few clouds so easily?

I stared at the wall of malachite-green trees and for about the hundredth time in the last few days I reproved myself for my shyness.

Ten years – I had waited _ten_ years until I met him again. And what had I done? Instead of thank him properly for everything I had wasted my time with stammering around.

I frowned in frustration and focused my eyes on a little water drop that slid, after a second of hesitation, along the glass down to the windowsill where a rather big pool had gathered in the mean time.

Maybe heaven punished me for my incompetence with this bad weather.

I pressed my forehead against the cool glass. White dust appeared on the smooth surface when I spoke. "Are you still somewhere out there?"

But only the wind answered with a dark howl. It sounded like a sigh.

I sighed back and a layer of white dust filled my view. This was so… so _depressing_.

"_Mon Dieu_! What was that sigh for? Did anything happen?"

I winced and spun around. Granny was standing at my door, her eyebrows were raised and her lips were stretched to an amused but interrogating smile. "_Non_, _non_, _non_," she said, stepping in front of me. "A young girl mustn't frown so much. Or do you want to look like me in two years?"

She put two fingers between my eyebrows and massaged the place softly. I felt a little better by her warm touch.

"_Merci_," I whispered when she placed a kiss on my forehead.

"Is something wrong, _ma chèrie_? You look so depressed," she asked concerned.

I shook my head. "No, it's just the weather, I guess," I told her with a half-smile and turend back to the window to hide my face.

'It wasn't a real lie,' I chanted to myself. 'It wasn't a real lie.'

Granny followed my gaze and sighed at the uncountable raindrops on the glass. "Yes, the weather is very moody at this time of the year," she agreed.

We kept silent like that for a while, then Granny clapped her hands and said, "Well, but this can't be helped so stop moping now. Let's go downstairs. Your unfinished cross stitch is waiting for you."

I nodded and followed her to the living-room after taking another longing look through the window.

"Really, Chloe. Where were your thoughts?" Mom said reproachfully and pulled another wrong set fiber out. "You could at least _look_ at what your hands are doing."

"I'm sorry," I said sheepishly and looked down at my feet with guilt.

"What's wrong with you today, _ma chèrie_?" Granny demanded concerned and laid her hands on my shoulders. "Did something happen?"

I shook my head, not daring to speak out aloud. I was sure that my voice would have betrayed me.

"Are you ill?" Granny asked again and put a hand on my forehead, checking my temperature.

_Did feeling guilty count as an illness?_

"No, I'm fine," I tried to sound as convincing as possible and told myself silently that it was just a half-lie.

Mom was too annoyed about my clumsiness to pay any attention to my betraying face. She pulled the last wrong set fiber with a sigh out of the fabric. "Now, go and try again. I know you can do better. – _If_ you don't always stare out of the window. Rain isn't _that_ interesting actually."

I nodded sheepishly and took the cross stitch out of her hands. "Thank you."

She patted my cheek softly. "_Concentration_," she reminded me and got up to prepare the oven for dinner.

Granny rubbed my shoulders and pressed a kiss on my cheek before she too went into the kitchen to help Mom.

I sat back on a chair, paying extra attention to keep a straight back like a good lady always did, and started to set a flower's outline on the fabric. Carefully, I set one stitch after another, my eyes permanently controlling the hands' actions.

_Concentrate…concentrate… _I chanted to myself. But it was more difficult that expected. I didn't know why but I couldn't enjoy the work as usual. There was a kind of stab at my neck that made me bite my lip in anxiety.

Someone was staring at me… I could feel it…

I shook my head. Stupid. Who would stare at me? Maybe I was just being paranoid.

"Concentrate… concentrate…" I whispered to myself. "There's nothing… concentrate…"

Suddenly a strong wind arose, joggling the window behind me. I winced and stung my finger with the needle. "_Ouch_."

I dropped the needle and put the finger into my mouth, pressing the warm tongue against it. So much about my efforts to concentrate…

I went to a cupboard and pulled a clean handkerchief out of the drawer to wrap it around my wet finger. A tiny red dot appeared on the white fabric. I bit my lip. Mommy will be angry about this for sure.

I took my finger out of the handkerchief after a minute or two and held it in front of my eyes. No blood anymore. I pressed it a little bit but no red liquid came out – the bleeding had stopped.

I turned around to go back to my sea and work. But I couldn't take on single step.

Was this real? Or was I dreaming again?

There, at the border of trees, was there really…

I rubbed my eyes in disbelieve.

Yes, he was still there. At the emerald-green wall of trees stood a tall figure with a shining white shirt that oozed with rain.

I smiled unconsciously.

_He was back…_

Then suddenly, from one blink to the next, he was gone.

I rushed to the window and pressed my forehead against the cold glass. "No, wait," I gasped.

I waited for a moment but no white color broke through the green again.

I spun around. Like a maniac I sped to the front door, put my shoes on and ran out into the dark rainy forest.

It was like a dream. My body was moving forward without my mind telling it to. A foreign power was pulling me deeper and deeper into the forest.

"Wait… please, wait for me…" I murmured again and again, like a gramophone record which had a skip.

The foreign power led me to the little meadow with the fallen tree trunk. Slowly I began to feel like a lunatic – going to a tiny meadow in the forest during heavy rainfall wasn't very healthy for sure.

But I didn't care at the moment. The voice of sanity wasn't able to drown the desire to see my "savior".

"H-hello?" I called diffidently. Raindrops crashed rustling against leaves and trunks and swallowed my words almost completely.

I bit my lip and tried to make my voice sound steadier. "Hello? Are you here?"

Silence.

I took a step further to the centre of the meadow. "P-please come out, if you're here," I pleaded. I felt a little strange. I mean, who wouldn't feel strange if he was standing in the forest while it was raining buckets and asking for someone to come out who probably wasn't present at all.

I shook my head fiercely. _No, no, no!_ He was here. He _must_ be here. I could feel it…

I walked around the meadow. My hair and dress were soaked in water; they were glued to my torso like a second skin. It was freezing cold and I was shaking uncontrollably hard. But still, I kept walking around, outing one tiny step in front of the other, and continued calling-

Who? Who was I calling? Who was the strange man with the raven-hued hair and the snow-white skin? What was the man's name whom I hadn't been able to forget even after ten years?

"Who are you?" I whispered, my voice trembling because of my shaking body. "Please… come to me… plea-"

I felt some kind of resistance at my foot and before I know what was going on I had already landed in the high grass and was covered in mud. I moaned in pain and got up, using the tree, over which's root I must have tripped, for help.

Then my eyes recognized something on the ground. It was small and round. Its tiny feathers soaked in rain and dirt. – It was a little bird.

I bended down to take a closer look at it and froze when I finally noticed _what_ exactly it was.

It was a sparrow fledging. Its beak and eyes were closed. It looked exhausted, as if it had squeaked for a very long time for help but nobody had come. Neither its parents nor did any other birds.

_Birds don't feed kids that had been touched by humans._

I took a step back, my hands pressed to my mouth. "No," I gasped. "no…"

"I told you to not come. This is no place for humans."

I winced and spun around to see the most perfect creature I had ever seen. Raindrops hung in his messy hair like diamonds. His shirt was soaked in water and was almost completely transparent, showing the line of his muscles and chest.

I looked back at the tiny sparrow's corpse and felt how tears raised up to my eyes. "I… I di-didn't want this… I never m-meant to… I… I… I'm s… s-orry," I managed to stammer between the sobs.

"This is no place for humans," he repeated, his voice as cold as the wind that was pulling at my clothes. "You never should have come."

I felt tears run down my cheeks or maybe it was just the rain. But my skin felt suddenly unusually hot. "I… I-"

"Leave." –I winced at his harsh tone– "Leave, and don't enter the forest again. _Never_."

I wanted to protest. But I couldn't. I didn't even find the strength to only open my mouth.

The last thing I remember was someone shouting my name and a white flash shooting towards me, before everything went dark around me.

* * *

_I'm sooooooooooooooo sorry that it took so long... you must've all believed that I died XDDD but I really have two (lame ^^) excuses for this! first: this was a very "depressing" chap... and I'm not very good at writing gloom and doom things... XDDD *happy-freak* and second: my parents forbid (yes: FORBID) me to write!!! aaaaaaarg!!!! can you believe this??!!! however, I don't want to use you as my psychiatirst__ XDDD_

_hope you enjoyed this chap and please review!! ^^_

_-Mulan-_


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter3 –Dream–**

I woke up to the familiar squeak sound that my old window always made when you opened it. I didn't open my eyes though. My body felt so numb and nerveless that I wasn't able to move a single muscle.

What was going on? What had happened? Why did my head feel like it had been set on fire while the rest of my body was as cold as ice? I could barely breathe. Something was in my throat which made me cough permanently.

I noticed how I was shaking unconsciously.

_Help!_ I wanted to scream. _Can't someone erase the fire in my head and chase away the coldness around my torso?_

Heavy cough shook through my body, making me gasp for air.

Tentatively I opened my eyes, but shut them immediately again. Everything was spinning and my head felt dizzy so I could barely think straight.

I moaned.

Bad idea. The unknown something started to scratch my throat with sharp blades. I almost thought that the cough would rip my chest apart.

_Water! _A voice in my shouted. _I need water!_

But the cough prohibited me to say the words out aloud or to move an inch.

Suddenly, from one blink to the next, I felt something hard at my back, lifting me up to a sitting posture. I shuddered at the coldness. Then something smooth touched my lips, it felt ice-cold on my burning skin.

"Drink," a deep velvet voice urged and the pressure on my lips became harder.

My hands reached up and found the shape of one of our tea-cups at my lips. – _Water!_

I opened my mouth eagerly. The cool fresh liquid ran down my throat, ceasing the aching pain instantly. My muscles relaxed and my hands fell on my lap. I emptied the cup in long drafts.

"More," I panted when the flood stopped and the pain in my throat began to overpower me again.

The support at my back vanished; a cool breeze comb through my hair. I had no strength to keep upright so I allowed my weak body to fall back.

But only a second later, before my head could land on the pillow, the hard cold support reappeared at my back and the smooth material of the cup was back at my lips.

Again I emptied the cup in seconds. Relaxed and relieved that the pain was alleviated for the moment, I fell to the side against something smooth and hard. Its coldness felt like ice on my burning cheeks. I shuddered first but then welcomed the fresh cold with a sigh.

"Do you want more?" the velvet voice asked. Did it sound a little hoarser than before?

I shook my head and rubbed my face against the beautiful cold smooth something. I felt the burning heat in my head slowly vanishing to let the coolness in. My body was still cold and stiff as if someone had put me in icy water. I shivered and pulled my arms and legs to my chest.

Then I felt something soft been wrapped around my torso. Something started to rub my arm through the soft layer – maybe a hand? My body started to warm up at the places where the "hand" had rubbed my skin through the thick soft coverlet. Slowly my muscles relaxed. I sighed into the cold smooth something. It trembled slightly in response. I heard air been sucked in with a sharp hiss.

Without me ordering them to, my hands reached out towards the cold something at my right; rough fabric dispread at my fingertips. I dug my fingers instinctively in the ice-cold fabric, pulling myself closer to it.

A tiny part in me questioned why I did this but my head was still so blearily that I couldn't think of an answer.

I tried to open my eyes – I wanted to know _what_ it was at least – but my head started spinning again as soon as I opened them an inch. I pressed lids shut with a groan.

The pain in my throat roared back to life instantly. I coughed.

"Shh…" the velvet voice whispered in my ear and goose bumps appeared on my arms. Cold fingers stroked softly my cheek down to my neck. "Relax. You need to rest."

I felt how I was put in a lying position and my head sinking back in the sweat soaked pillow. My fingers dug automatically deeper in the fabric when the calming coldness left my heated face.

_Don't go!_ I wanted to scream but heavy cough forbid me to.

Something cold and smooth pressed against my burning forehead, chasing the unbearable heat away for the moment.

"You're tired. Sleep," the deep velvet voice ordered. A cool sweet breeze washed over my skin when it spoke.

I sucked the exotic aroma in unconsciously. Strong cough shook through my body as reaction.

Then, slowly and as soft as a bird's feather, something cool and smooth pressed against my neck, on the skin under which my throat was burning. My eyes flashed open and I gasped for air. My whole body went stiff as a poker. I wanted to scream but not a single tone found its way out of my wide opened mouth.

But then, from one moment to the other, the burning pain in my throat was gone, as if it had popped into thin air, or as if had never been there…

My muscles relaxed and tiredness washed over me like a big wave. I felt my lids fall shut again.

A pair of shiny golden eyes were the last things I had seen before I drifted to deep dreamless sleep…

"The fever went back," a familiar female voice said from far away.

"_Heureusement_," another well-known female voice responded relieved.

"I really don't understand this girl anymore, _maman_," the first voice said and sighed heavily. "What's just got into her?"

"That's just a phase. You don't need to worry."

"A _phase_? She went outside in the cold while it rain buckets! I can't remember that I have ever done something like that."

"Well, but you did plenty of other bizarre things if I'm not mistaken, _my fille_," Granny said amused.

Mom chuckled quietly. "_Oui_, _oui_. But still-"

She stopped mid-sentence when I clinked my eyes open with a moan. A blur of brown filled my view. After a few blinks the brown mass cleared to the outlines of ranked together wood planks. My eyes wandered around and found my mother and grandma sitting at my bed with worried and relieved faces.

"How do you feel, _my chèrie_?" Granny asked concerned.

"A little stiff," I answered truthfully and stretched myself. "What happened?"

"What happened?" Mom echoed in angry tone and dropped the towel, with which she had washed my forehead, in the washbowl. "Yes, this is a good question, isn't it? – A _very_ good question."

"Don't you remember anything?" Granny demanded softly.

I bit my lip to not let the truth blurt out. Of course I still remembered why I had ran into the forest during heavy rainfall and I still knew what had happened at the meadow. But I didn't remember what had happened afterwards or how I had got home. And with that argument I tired to justify my lie.

I shook my head, trying to look innocent and interrogatingly.

Mom and Granny exchanged and irritated glance. "Well, we don't know, either," Mom said slowly and raised and eyebrow. "We called you for dinner but no one responded. When we looked in the living-room we only found your cross stitch on a chair. You weren't in the house. We were very worried." –I looked at the cover guiltily and blushed– "Then we heard a knock at the door. And when we opened it we found you sitting at the door-step, unconscious."

I blinked puzzled. "And how did I get there?"

Mom crossed her arms at her chest and both of her eyebrows wandered upwards. "Good question isn't it?" she demanded, her voice gained an angry edge again. "What were you doing outside of the house during that weather anyway?"

I froze.

"_Lie!"_ a part in me urged. _"You have to lie! Or do you want them worry about you and sent you to some scary hospital in the end? Lie! You must lie!"_

"_No!"_ another part protested firmly. _"Don't! Or do you plan on lying to them for the rest of your life? They are your family! They deserve to know the truth!"_

"I… I was looking for the mirror Daddy gave me at Granny's birthday… but I couldn't find it. So… I thought that it might me somewhere around the house…" My voice broke at the end. I hoped that they would ascribe this to my chill. I was glad that they couldn't hear how fast my heart was beating at that moment because otherwise they probably wouldn't have believed me so easily.

Mom rolled eyes and sighed. "_Petit sot_. Your mirror is right here." –she got up and picked up a small rectangle from my desk– "Next time you call us before you storm out like a blind."

I nodded sheepishly and received my new small treasure.

"You know this will have consequences," she continued in a strict tone. "You'll be grounded for at least two weeks."

"_Oui_,_ maman_."

She stroke my forehead, putting a few strands of hair back. Her smile was filled warmth and caress. "Get some sleep now, _ma petite princesse_."

Granny kissed my cheek, then both of them left the room.

I sighed in relief when the door fell shut and their steps died away into the distance.

They believe me. I bit my lip to banish the guilt that tried to force me to run to them and tell them the truth.

I held the mirror in front of my face to distract myself. It surprised me again and again how sharp and clear the reflection was. It was so many times exacter than water or a window's glass. I hold it closer to my eyes. I could even distinguish each single eyelash! The green of my eyes looked much more intense, too.

I smiled. My father was the best. Silver mirrors like the one in my hands were a new invention and supposably very expensive in town. But he still managed to get me one. How lucky I was.

I got up to put the mirror back on the desk. My feet felt like pudding after lying so long in bed. Because the air in my room smelled very stuffily and like some bitter medicine, I decided to open a window and let some fresh air in.

I paused when I noticed that the window wasn't locked. Maybe Mom or Granny had opened it while I had been sleeping and had forgotten to lock it afterwards. I pushed the window open. The two casements slide outside with a quiet squeak sound.

I froze.

This sound… wasn't there something last night? I bit my lip and closed my eyes to concentrate on remembering the latest events. What had happened after I passed out at the meadow and before my mother and grandmother had woken me up?

_A squeak… a hiss… a voice…_

Then, after the audible memories, came the things I had felt.

_A support at my back… a tea-cup on my lips… a hand rubbing my arm…_

– A hand!

_C__ool fingers stroking my cheek… my neck… a pressure on my forehead… my throat…_

My hand reached up to my neck.

It was gone. The horrible sharp pain was completely gone. Without leaving back the slightest clue of its presence. Had it ever been there?

Of course! It must have been. I was ill. Mom had said that the fever went back. But how did I recover so quickly?

I pressed my lid tightly together, concentrating harder, trying to remember some kind of optical memories. – Seeing was believing.

… Yes… there was something. – _Two_ things; a pair of something. They were shining in the darkness like… like _gold_.

Yes! That was it! A pair of golden eyes!

My eyes flashed open and I spun around, eyeing every angle of my room with torn open eyes. Someone had been here…

I tiptoed to my cupboard – my legs still shaking – and opened it with a jerk. It was empty, like my bed and the space under my desk.

I bit my lip in anxiety, my eyes still twitching nervously around, staring at every corner, every roof beam with suspicion.

I sank on a chair exhausted, taking deep breaths to calm down. "Relax, Chloe," I whispered to myself, my voice a few octaves too high. "You're acting like an insane. – _Golden_ eyes. That's ridiculous. You must've been dreaming."

I chuckled, but it sounded unnaturally even in my own ears.

I got up after a while to close the window – it was getting cold now.

I froze and my eyes grew wider when I leaned out to pull the two casements shut.

I stopped breathing.

There, on the ground under my window was lying one of our white ceramic tea-cups.

* * *

_Hey there! ^^_

_I'm sooooooooooooo sorry that this chap took so long... T.T You must've thought that I was dead or sth. like that XDD actually I really was kind of dead.... caught a cold... T.T so I wasn't able to write for about a week . when I started writing again I noticed that Chloe was dead, too ^^ - I'd written myself ill!! XDDD_

_I hope you like this chap!! ^^ - please review!!_

_-Mulan-_

_PS. I'll do my best to update the next chap faster! *swear* oh, and by the way.... a friend of mine and I are writing on another Twilight-FF ^^ it'll be kind of a parody XD I'll update that one immediatly, too, as soon as we've finished the first chap ;)_


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter4 –Saying Thank you–**

Mom insisted on me staying in bed for the rest of the week. While I healed in my room I watched the weather outside become lighter and calmer with each warm East wind that came from the ocean. And again I wondered if he was still somewhere in the depths of the forest.

The morning was warm and sunny. It was Wednesday now and I had school.

"How do you feel, Chloe?" Chantal greeted me with a concerned expression on her slightly bronze face when I opened the door. She was at my house like every morning when we had school.

"Absolutely fine," I assured her, smiling.

Her face lit up instantly, all worries washed away like footprints on the beach. "_Bien_," she said, took my hand and ran off with me.

Chantal d'Auvert – my best friend since I could think back. She was born as a child of the sun and had the wonderful talent to infect everyone with her happiness. Whenever I was down and sad she would be there to cheer me up again.

Our village had only one school that included all kids in a one mile radius. But still, our class had only fourteen students – nine of those were from our village.

I was encircled by my comrades as soon as Chantal and I entered the small classroom.

"How are you, Chloe?", "Do you really feel well enough for school already?", "My mother made you some warm tea that I brought you," my schoolmates bombarded me. Well, living in a small village at the Appalachian Mountains didn't only mean to be able to get fresh air but also that news spread like dandelion seeds in autumn.

"I-I'm fine," I responded, my voice trembling with emotion. "Thank you all s-so much."

"Tell me immediately if you don't feel good," Antoine offered gently. "I'll take you home then."

Chantal slapped her cousin's arm teasingly. "Hold back Romeo. That's _my_ precious friend you're trying to inveigle."

"I-I never tried to!" Antoine protested, his face bright red.

"Sure sure," Chantal giggled. The other kids joined in her laughter.

I blushed three shades of pink. _Antoine and me? Impossible!_

The cheerful atmosphere was interrupted by the teacher's arrival. When I went to my seat next to Chantal I noticed Janette who was looking at Antoine secretly.

"I think Janette likes Antoine."

Chantal almost choke on her lunch. "_Pardon_?"

"I said that Janette seems to have special feelings towards Antoine," I repeated, taking a bite form my bread.

"You're kidding," Chantal objected. "You mean Janette Rosette –_our_ Janette Rosette– is in love with Antoine Millieux –_my_ clumsy cousin Antoine Milleux?"

I blinked irritated. I hadn't expected her reacting like this. "Erm… yes?"

Chantal stared at me funny for a few seconds, then she shook her head with laughter. I winced at her sudden out-burst.

"Ch-Chantal?" I demanded carefully. "Did I say something hilarious?"

"Is that a trick question?" she replied, still laughing. Tears started to form in the corner of her chestnut-brown eyes. "You just said that Janette has fallen for Antoine!"

"And what's so funny about this?" I questioned, frowning in frustration.

She stopped laughing and sighed. "Chloe, Chloe, Chloe," she sighed, underlining each word with a shake of her head. "No offends, but you have no talent to see the relationship between two people apparently."

I cocked my head to aside and blinked interrogatingly. "Huh?"

"It is _absolutely_ impossible that Janette like Antoine that way," she clarified, emphasizing each single word for me.

"Why not?"

"_Why not?_" she echoed in amusement. "Because Janette treats my precious cousin like her _servant_. Do you remember when she lost the red pen her uncle bought her a while ago? Antoine had found it in the classroom in the end and what does that girl do?"

She paused theatrically. I waited patiently for her to continue.

"She didn't even say _'Thank you'_!" Chantal complained angrily. "She just wrenched it form his hand, turned on her heels and stalked away." –she waved disfavoringly with her free hand while taking a sip form her tea– "And that wasn't the first time. I've heard Auntie telling Mom many of these kinds of complains."

Chantal and Antoine's mothers were sisters and were known as inseparable ever since they had been born.

She shook her head again. "_Non, non_. Janette isn't in love with my cousin." –she grinned freshly– "And even if that was the case, it wouldn't change the fact that Antoine loves _you_."

I blushed.

"Ah," she sighed and smiled dreamily at the distance. "I can already see you two walk down the aisle and speak your vows."

"_Chantal!_" I squeaked.

She laughed.

My head spun around. Fortunately nobody was around who could have heard her indecent words. I bit my lip. I needed to change the subject. "So Janette really didn't thank Antoine for helping her?"

She stopped laughing and took another sip from her tea. "As I said: _Nope_."

"Strange," I considered thoughtfully. "That isn't her usual way of behaving."

Chantal made a sound of sneer. "She just believes that she can do anything since her father and uncle both found jobs in Baltimore. _Your_ father has been working in town for ages. They just got their jobs in March and are already acting like some kind of royal family. There was a reason why Louis XVI got executed in the end."

I shuddered at her brutal comparison. Chantal had had always a melodramatic streak.

"M-maybe Janette just forgot…"

"She forgot to say a simple _'Thank you'_?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Well…" I didn't know why but I somehow felt the great urge to defend Janette. Maybe because she, too, was one of my best friends or maybe I also had someone whom I hadn't thanked properly until now.

Chantal sighed. "I know you always try to see the bright side of every person and thing, Chloe. And I like Janette actually," she admitted. "But just because of the fact that I like both Janette and Antoine I feel disappointed about her behavior. I mean, it really isn't that difficult to say a simple _'Thank you'_."

I nodded sheepishly, my eyes locked on the ground. "Yes, you are right."

The days continued like this. Going to school with Chantal in the morning, doing homework afterwards, having fun with my friends, helping Mom and Granny in the evening. It was the common schedule that I had had for more than ten years. I usually didn't like new things. I felt comfortable with the old and well-known. I always needed a while to get used to something foreign. But somehow, I felt indescribably boring recently. I had never been one of action and adventures. I loved the calm little place where I lived so I was very surprised when I found myself yawning over one of my favourite books in the evening.

Strange… it was quiet early and the sun hadn't set now. How could I be tired already? I tried to go on reading but the yawning wouldn't stop. I shut the book with a sigh before I managed to finish the page. Because I couldn't think of anything else that could entertain me I decided to go to bed early that day.

But, funnily, I was suddenly wide awake when I laid in bed. Frustrated and irritated, I stared at the wooden ceiling. I bit my lip. What the heck was _wrong_ with me today?

I thought back, searching for something that might have any influence on my unordinary behavior.

I had gotten up at about eight o'clock like everyday and had gone with Chantal to school where nothing special had happened. The afternoon had been spent with Chantal and Janette at Fabienne's house. We had done our homework together and played cards afterwards. It had been quiet difficult for Fabienne and me to stop Chantal and Janette from arguing all the time. Then, in the evening, I had had dinner with Mom and Granny as always. The dinner had also been nothing extraordinary which might have caused any problems for my stomach. The only weird thing today had been the face that I had gotten tired from one moment to another.

I turned to aside and closed my eyes but it was no help. I sat up, wrapped my arms around my legs and rested my head on my knees.

Hmm… Granny always said that the main point in peaceful sleep was a pure conscience. So what could have caused remorse to me?

Maybe because I talked ugly things about Janette with Chantal? –No, that wasn't the reason. First, this was already a week ago. And second, I hadn't said anything bad about her, did I? It had been quiet the opposite – I had defended Janette in front of Chantal. So this couldn't be the source of my bad conscience.

But what else could it be? Because I was absolutely clueless I decided to check every single person I knew.

I started with my family. Mother? –No. Daddy? –Not, either. Granny? –No.

One of my friends perhaps? Chantal? Antoine? Janette? Fabienne? Claudine? Dominique? Julien? Louis? –No, no, no…

Then… who el-

It suddenly hit me like a bolt from the blue. A man with pale-white skin and pitch-black hair; a simple white cotton shirt and black trousers. And his eyes… those unbelievable golden eyes…

"_She didn't even say _'Thank you'_!"_ Chantal's words echoed in my head. _"…I feel disappointed about her behavior. I mean, it really isn't that difficult to say a simple _'Thank you'_."_

I bit my lip and hugged my legs harder to my chest.

I still hadn't managed to show him my gratefulness. He had already saved my life two times and maybe, if I was not mistaken, there weren't just two but _three_ times! How do you thank someone for saving your life this often? A simple "Thank you" seemed to be too… _simple_.

I jumped from my bed and lit up a candle. Without knowing for what exactly I was looking for I opened the drawer at my desk. The shiny glass of the little rectangular mirror reflected the dim candlelight; diving the whole room in a warm yellow glint.

Yes, a silver mirror should be valuable enough to show your gratitude towards your lifesaver, right? Daddy had told me that these were a totally new invention and quiet rare. And it contained real silver, too. Even Janette hadn't had one now.

I smiled satisfied and took it in my hand carefully. Okay, it was decided. Tomorrow I would go to the forest and-

"_This is no place for humans__… You never should have come…"_ I gasped when the bitter words jumped to my mind. His voice as sharp as knives. _"Leave, and don't enter the forest again. _Never_."_

I bit my lip to suppress a sob.

He didn't mean it that way, right? I mean… if he really wanted me to not come to the forest he wouldn't have saved me so many times, would he? The fact that he did, showed that he somehow cared about me… right?

I shook my head.

That was ridiculous. He didn't know me; he didn't even know my name! But… who else but him could have been the one shouting my name when I lost conscious that day?

There were still so many questions I wanted him to answer me.

_Who are you?_

_Where do you come from?_

_Why are you here?_

_How could you know my name?_

_Why do you always help me?_

_Why are you always at my side when I need help?_

_Why can't I simply forget you? Why…_

I pressed the mirror to my chest and closed my eyes.

I had decided. Tomorrow I will go to the forest and thank him. I will ask him the many questions I had and I wouldn't leave before he answered them all. Definitely… even if this would be the last time I go to the forest.

* * *

_so... ths is chap4 ^^ I really enjoyed writing about Chantal - she's great!! XDD and to all of you who's name is "Janette" - don't be offended ^^ it's nothing personal, I just asked my friend for a french name and that was the first which came to her mind ^^_

_hmm.... the next chap is gonna be long~~ *sigh* I can already feel the pain in my hand..... X_____X but I'll try to update as fast as possible!! PROMIS!! ^^ *cross fingers XDD*_

_please tell me whether you like this chap or not!! ^^ thx!!_

_-Mulan-_


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter5 –Realization–**

I almost dropped the cards when Fabienne suddenly called my name. "Chloe? Do you feel sick?"

"I-I'm fine," I answered quickly – a little bit too quick perhaps. "Why would you think that?"

"_Pas des idées_. Just a feeling, I guess," Chantal said sarcastically.

Claudine giggled, she always giggled about Chantal's little jokes. "You tried to top a _Queen_ with a _Two_, Chloe," she told me and handed me my _Hearts Two_.

I blushed and put it back to my hand. "Oops…"

"Is that a new tactic of yours?" Janette joked. "Firing the cards while staring out of the window?"

I felt my cheeks heat up and hid my face behind the cards which were formed to a fan in my hands. "_Pardon_."

"Are you waiting for someone?" Fabienne asked when the game went back to normal again. "Is your father coming perhaps?"

I shook my head. "No, next time he comes will be on my birthday in August."

The anticipation must have been carved on my face. "Oh, I bet you're already counting the days until then," Claudine guessed. "No wonder. If my Daddy always brought me beautiful presents from town, I would die from waiting, too."

"Chloe isn't one of those persons whose eyes shine at the sight of nice presents," Chantal defended me and threw a meaningful glance at Janette.

She ignored that. "You're right, Chantal. Chloe isn't that kind of person," she agreed and topped Chantal's _Jack_ with a _King_.

I blushed in shame.

"I know she isn't," Claudine admitted sheepishly. "I was just saying…"

"Say, Chloe," Fabienne cut her off, saving her friend from further embarrassments. "What did your father bring you from town this time?"

I remembered that I hadn't been able to tell them until now. Dad had arrived very late that day and after that there had been the issue with the rainy forest…

"Umm… Granny got a book and for Momma he had plucked a pretty flower bouquet on his way home." Actually he had bought half of the bouquet at a flower-shop in town but that would have sounded too showy, so I felt that little detail out.

"And for you?" Claudine gouged. "Didn't he get you anything?"

I put on a smile which hopefully would look slightly disappointed. "I shared the bouquet with Momma. It was Granny's birthday after all."

Claudine nodded in disappointment. "Well, that's true."

Maybe it was just my imagination but I thought that I had seen a hint of triumph in Janette's sapphire-blue eyes.

I didn't tell my friends anything about the mirror because of two reasons. The first one was the same like the reason why I concealed the details about the bouquet. My mother had always taught me to be modest and not to show off. It was wrong and vainglory wouldn't bring you any goods.

The other reason went to a totally different direction though. If I told them about the mirror they would definitely want to see it. But because it would no longer be mine, I didn't want to cause any problems with that…

After my spontaneous decision last night, I had barely been able to keep my eyes closed for five minutes. I had been so excited and my heard had thundered so hard in my chest that I had feared it would jump out any moment. I hadn't been able to calm down the next day, either, which made me even clumsier than usual. No matter whether it was the apple at breakfast or the pen during classes – I had dropped everything that was put in my sweating hands.

I was a nervous wreck – literally.

Actually, there was no reason for me to act so weird. I mean, I was just going to go into the forest, look for that foreign guy, give him the mirror, say "Thank you" and go home afterwards. The plan was so simple that even such a clumsy person like me should be able to do it.

_Theoretically…_

I bit my lip and enclosed secretly the cold mirror in my pocket. It will work out… somehow… I hope…

Our little card-afternoon ended at about four o'clock. After leaving Fabienne's house I walked a while with Chantal and Janette before I left them with the excuse that I would have promised Granny to get some flowers to decorate our living-room.

I admit that it was a very weak excuse but as I said – I was a nervous wreck so my brain couldn't think of anything better.

I stopped at the border of the forest. The giant trees raised in front of me up like a wall of spears, reaching for the sky which was colored in a slight shape of purple by the soon setting sun.

I had about two hours before I had to head home for dinner, enough time to complete my "mission". I took a deep breath, inhaling the well-known sent of grass and moss.

'I can do it,' I encouraged myself before I stepped into the shadows of the emerald-green leaves. I was holding my breath at that moment.

I walked mechanically to the meadow although I had no guarantee that he was here. But where else should I look for him? I had no idea where he lived – I didn't even know his name!

I stepped into the centre of the meadow and turned slowly around on one point.

No one seemed to be here except for me.

I bit my lip. My fingers reaching for the calming smooth glass of the mirror to encourage myself. I had already come this far, I _mustn't _give up now!

"H-hello?" I spoke into the perfect silence. My voice echoed unusually loud in the quiet forest. "Hello? Can you hear me?"

I waited but nobody answered.

I clenched my hands to fists. "I know you're here, so please stop hiding and show yourself."

Strange… Where did this sudden sureness come from? What had filled my voice with this strength and power? Was my wish to thank that foreign man this strong?

"Come out!" I heard myself command with a kind of authority that I had never known that something like this could be possibly in me. "You can't hide forever! I have sworn myself to not leave until I have talked to you."

Silence.

"You won't come out, will you?" I sat down on the fallen tree-trunk, crossing my arms demonstratively. "Fine. This is a game for two players. If you don't come out then I won't move an inch, either."

I had to admit, I was very surprised about myself. I had never been a "drop-on-floor-and-refuse-to-cooperate-child". Where did this self-confidence suddenly come from? What had happened to me?

I didn't know how long exactly I had sat there, arms crossed and mouth pulled to a stubborn pout. From the corner of my eyes I noticed how the sun sank unstoppably to the ground. I was getting a little scared when the shadow of the trees started to cover the little meadow.

I was such an idiot to sit here and wait for someone who might even not exist at all. I shook that thought away quickly. No! He did exist! I knew it. And he was here – I could feel it… I could feel those pair of golden eyes rest on me…

"You sure are a stubborn girl."

I jumped to my feet and spun around.

He was leaning casually against a tree about five metres away from me. He was wearing the same clothes like he always did. But unlike usual his serious face was now displaced by an amused smirk.

"Y-you kept me waiting," I stammered, my voice suddenly trembling with nervousness.

He chuckled. "Did I?"

I swallowed and nodded.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," he said, but that smug grin on his face didn't show the slightest bit of remorse at all.

I inhaled deeply and scraped the tiny bit of courage I had together. "You're lying."

"So what?" he demanded, his golden eyes rayed humour and maybe even a little it curiosity but that was just my imagination, I guess.

"It's not right."

"It's human," he countered as fast as a fired arrow.

I bit my lip, not knowing what to respond. "But it still isn't right," I finally said sheepishly.

He chuckled again, but this time it sounded hard and humourless. "So it's right to break a promise you just made a few days ago then?"

I couldn't respond. His ice-cold face made me freeze at a place.

"You promised to not enter the forest again," he repeated.

"I-I never," I stammered. "I never promised you anything."

He didn't reply. He just kept spearing me with his cool eyes. I felt suddenly completely naked under his stare; it was as if he could look through me with his sparkling golden eyes. I wanted to look away but I forced myself to not move. I knew he would vanish again if I surrendered.

I swallowed and my hand enclosed the mirror. "I'm sorry that I didn't follow your advice," I started. He didn't move an inch. "I was born here at the forest so I don't think that it could be dangerous for me to be her-"

"Dangers are everywhere," he cut me off sharply. "They hid at the places where you can't see them, that's why they are so dangerous."

"I-I know but-"

"What if you got lost again?" he continued. "What if I won't be there when you fell off a tree again?"

"Th-that's why I'm here." I held my breath and took a step towards him. He still stood frozen on one place like a perfect sculpture. "You have already helped me so many times and I hadn't been able to thank you once." –I took the mirror out of my pocket; my hands were shaking and soaked in my own sweat– "I-I brought you this mirror to show you my gratitude. I know it's not very much but-"

"I don't need anything like that," he cut me off again, his head turned to aside so he wasn't looking at me anymore. "Keep it and go home."

His words hit me like a slap in the face.

What had I expected? That he would take my present with a smile? Now, when the pain hit me, I recognized how naïve I was. I felt tears start building in my eyes and a second later something wet streamed down my cheeks. "I-I'm s-sorry," I managed to stammer between the sobs. "It's just… you have a-already helped me s-so many times and" –I took a step closer. He still didn't move– "a-and I can't give or do anything else for y-you but this."

He pressed his eyes shut and his jaw tightened, as if he was fighting an inner conflict with all his strength. I took another step closer.

"P-please," I begged and raised my hands, offering the little mirror which reflected the last streams of sunlight. "Please take it. I will feel very happy if you accept my Thankfulness."

"If I take it," he said after a moment of tense silence, turning his beautiful pale face back to me slowly. "If I accept it, will you promise me to never enter this forest again?"

I felt my legs start shaking. Why? Why was he so obsessed about banishing me out of the forest? "Why?" I whispered weakly.

"Will you promise?" he repeated, his voice hand and strict.

I tried to swallow but my mouth was absolute dry. "Y… yes," I heard my hoarse voice respond. "I… I… p-promise…"

He looked deeply into my eyes, checking whether I was trying to betray him. But he didn't seem to have found anything. Without another word he raised one hand towards me.

I wanted to run towards him but at my haste I tripped and lost my balance. Strong cold arms caught me before I could hit the ground.

I looked up, meeting those wonderful golden eyes in which I found a hint of concern.

"I told you it's dangerous here," he reminded me, his velvet voice was a little hoarser than usual. His face was so near mine that I could feel his cool exquisite breath washed over my skin.

I didn't move. His arms around me… it felt so… so… _right_. As if they were meant to be there to protect me… as if they had always been there…

Suddenly –and much too early– he pushed me back to my own shaking feet and let go of me. He cleared his throat and held out his hand demandingly. His face was turned away from me again.

"My present?" he asked when I still didn't move after a while.

I looked down at my hands and noticed that they were empty. It must have slipped out of my sweaty hands when I had tripped. "Oh, no." I fell to my knees and looked around nervously. Fortunately, I found it quickly at my right in the grass, the glass surface down on the ground. I picked it up.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized while polishing the glass with my sleeve. "It's your present and I let it fa-"

I stopped mid-sentence, my eyes torn wide open in shock.

"What's wrong?" I heard him ask and the next moment he was on his knees, too. His eyes examined me with concern. "Chloe?"

"I-it has a… a crack…" I breathed, the tears falling again. "I've… I've damaged your present with my carelessness…"

He looked down at the little rectangular mirror in my hands. "It's nothing," he assured me. "I guess I wouldn't even have recognized it if you didn't tell me." He took it out of my hands.

"No!" I protested. "It's damaged! I can't-"

"It's still perfectly intact," he disagreed, turning the mirror in the dim light. "There's just a tiny scratch in the corner."

"B… but-"

"Thank you," he cut me off –again. "It's made off silver, right? Thank you for such a valuable present. I'll take good care of it."

I was absolutely speechless. Was he really smiling at… _me_?

He put the mirror in his trousers' pocket and then, as fast as it had appeared, the smile vanished from his lips to be displaced by a hard line.

"Now it's your turn," he said; his voice ice-cold and razor-sharp. "Leave this place and don't come back as you have promised."

I couldn't move, my whole body was shaking.

"What are you waiting for?" he suddenly shouted. "Go home! Go home and don't come back again! _Never!_"

_No! Stop shouting at me like that! _I wanted to scream but I wasn't capable of doing anything expect for crying.

"I can't believe it – you're still here!"

_No! Don't!_

"I told you to leave!"

_Please! Please stop!_

"Get a move! _Leave!!_"

"_Stop shouting at me!_" I finally screamed and jumped to my feet.

I ran the whole way home without looking back once.

"Chloe, there you are. We have been waiting for y- Chloe? What's wrong, _ma chèrie_? Chloe!"

I slammed my room's door shut with a ear-splitting _"Bamm"_ and slid to the floor. My entire body shaking with sobs, my face wet with tears.

I had finally realized it… the moment when he had looked at me with that warm smile…

"I love you," I whispered.

Mother and Grandmother's worried voices echoed outside, pervading through the door to me. But I didn't hear it.

"Please, don't hate me…" I sobbed, soaking my dress with tears. "Don't hate me… I love you… I love you so much…"

* * *

_now... this is Chap.5 ^^ I'm already sitting at the Chap.6 but it will need a little more time I guess.... I'm gonna move away ^^ so it'll probably take some time 'til the PC will work correctly again... sry!! please have a little patience - I promise it'll be worth it ;)_

_-Mulan-_


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter6 –Confess–**

"_Cela suffit!_" Chantal exploded.

I winced at her sudden outburst and dropped the pencil in my hand. It landed with a hollow sound on the uneven ground.

Our class was having drawing lesson at the moment. The task was to draw a portrait of the person sitting next to you in the classroom. After some pleading the teacher had allowed us to go outside in the warm sun.

I wasn't good at drawing unlike Chantal, who really had talent at putting the things she saw on paper. But unfortunately her patience wasn't one great quality of hers.

"What's wrong, Chantal?" I asked carefully. "Am I such a bad model?"

She shot me a glance that I had only seen once on her.

That was when her father had accidentally dropped her favourite cup, which had had her name in colorful letters on the outside and also had been the last present from her grandfather before he had died. The cup had shattered irreparably in many little cullet. Chantal had glared at her Dad with hate and agony and had refused to talk to him for more than a month. She had been five years old at that time.

"What's wrong?" she echoed, her voice trembling with rage, her chestnut-brown eyes sparkling like a pair of red rubies. "What's wrong? Yeah, good question, isn't it? Now, when I think about it, this is the first thing –the first _expedient_ thing– you've said for the entire _week_!"

I ducked my head slowly, preparing for the unavoidable outburst.

"What's wrong!" Chantal shrieked, throwing her arms wildly in the air and with them the pencil in her hand. "Eureka! She has noticed that something was wrong! After acting like a zombie for _seven_ whole days, she finally noticed that something was _wrong_! That's really worth throwing a party!"

I looked down at my hands embarrassed and bit my lip. _Zombie_ – had it been so obvious?

Chantal took deep breaths and pressed two fingers against the bridge of her nose. Her eyes were closed and slowly she started rocking forth and back. – Her standard ritual to calm down.

A few seconds of perfect silence ticked by while Chantal tried to get a hold on her anger. I stayed absolutely still, biting my lip until I didn't felt it anymore. I noticed that tears started to climb up in my eyes and fought them back quickly.

Chantal sighed. "Chloe," she spoke softly, opening her eyes and picking the pencils up. She looked frustrated and a little tired; she really must have worried a lot about me. "You are my best friend." –she handed me my pencil and I took it hesitantly– "I trust you more than I trust anybody else. And you trust me, too, don't you?"

I enclosed my pencil, boring my nails in my hand. I nodded, my neck felt somehow stiff.

"Fine," Chantal continued, her voice still soft which was quiet uncommon for her. "Then you know that I would tell you if something bothered me, right?"

Another swift nod.

"_Et vice versa._ You can tell my anything that strains your heart, Chloe… So?"

I peaked up at her. She watched me expectantly. My eyes wandered back to my hands quickly. Another silent moment passed by, but instead of bursting out like usual, Chantal kept waiting patiently.

"I-I…" I started, my voice shaking with…

With what? Why was I stammering around? Why couldn't I just look into her eyes and tell her everything? She was my best friend after all.

"I…" I tried again. "I… It's…"

"Chloe," she sighed. "Look, I want to help you. But you've to cooperate. So tell me what's troubling you if you want me help you. Do you want my help?"

I nodded, though I wasn't absolutely sure.

Chantal nodded back. "_Bien_. So… is all this about a person here?"

I thought about it and nodded. Yes, I guess he was still here…

"Okay… then… is something wrong with your family? Is your grandma sick perhaps?"

I shook my head. If yes, then the whole village would have already known it jet.

Chantal frowned in concentration. "Hmm…" –her face suddenly clouded with suspicion– "Has Janette picked on you again?"

I shook my head again but more fiercely this time. Why did she always suspicious Janette? We were all great friends since I could think back, weren't we?

She pursed her lips. "Hmm… not Janette… then…"

What were we doing here? Chantal could never possibly strike home! She didn't even know about the existence of the mysterious man in the forest.

I sighed inwardly.

This was senseless – _everything_ was senseless…

"Antoine!" Chantal suddenly shouted.

I winced and my head spun around but no one was here except for the two of us. I turned back to Chantal. A fresh grin was lying on her lips, her eyes shining with triumph.

"Direct hit."

I blinked in irritation. What was she talking about?

"Spill, _now_!" she commanded and slid closer to me.

I cocked my head to aside. "Huh?"

"Oh, Chloe, c'mon," she urged eagerly, shaking me teasingly at my shoulders. "Don't force me to trickle each single word out of you. Talk if you treasure your life."

"Er… what exactly do you want to know?" I wondered.

She rolled her eyes at me and sighed. "When?"

"What when?"

"When did he tell you?"

"What did who tell me?"

Her narrowed in impatience. "Chloe," she said in a dark threatening tone.

I winced and leaned back. "Y-yes?"

"You know I don't own the patience of a saint so you better confess everything now before something bad happens," she explained, leaning towardsme. Her eyes bored into mine.

"B-but," I stammered. "I _really_ don't kno-"

"_Voilà_, here you are."

We both spun around and saw Janette and Claudine stepping towards us.

"We have looked for you _everywhere_," Claudine complained. "The lesson is already over. We have to go back to class now."

Chantal snorted like a wild horse and got up. I got up, too, suppressing a sigh of relief. I really had never been so happy to go to class like now.

"Don't rejoice too early, young lady," I heard Chantal say while I knocked off the dirt form my dress. I paused. Her voice was low with threat again. "We haven't finished jet."

I bit my lip. I was going to have a hard time for at least two months – Chantal could be _very_ strongheaded sometimes.

She marched away, Claudine followed her on her heels, bombarding Chantal with curious questions.

"_Mon_ _Dieu_," I sighed and turned around. I winced when I noticed Janette who was standing right in front of me. I thought she had left together with Chantal and Claudine. "J-Janette! Don't do that again. You scared the hell out of me."

"Sorry," she muttered, I hardly heard it.

She bit her lip and frowned in concentration. It seemed that she wanted to say something and didn't know how to phrase it. I waited patiently. The seconds ticked by without her even opening her mouth.

The bell rang.

"Erm… Janette? We have to go to class now… maybe we could talk later?"

She didn't react and I made a move to leave.

"Antoine," she finally spoke. It wasn't louder than a whisper.

I blinked, confused. Why the heck was everyone talking about Antoine today?

I waited for her to continue but nothing came. "Yes? What's about him?" I asked after a moment.

She bit her lip again. "Nothing," she said shortly, turned on her heels and walked away, leaving me back in irritation.

I rushed out of the classroom as soon as the bell rang so Chantal wouldn't be able to catch me.

She had glared at me during the lesson whenever she had had the chance to. I knew that look, it was her so called "Prepare-your-testament-look" which was frightened among all kids in our village; even some adults feared it.

"You get the feeling that she was going to jump at you and rip your head off," Mom had described it once. And Dad had added, laughing: "The poor boy who is going to marry her."

However, I acted out of pure self preservation when I flied from my best friend.

I hid in an empty room and waited with held breath until it was completely silent outside. I tiptoed quickly out of school, making as less sounds as possible. I sighed in relief when I finally crossed the doorstep.

"So what is it you wanted to tell me, Janette?" I suddenly heard Antoine's voice sound from my left.

I walked towards that direction quietly and found Janette and Antoine standing at the grand oak-tree on our school-ground. Janette was looking down on her feet; her fingers were fidgeting nervously. She was biting her lip again and her eyebrows were knight in discomfort.

"Erm… Janette?" Antoine asked carefully, his face a mask of helplessness.

I saw Janette take a deep breath and then she said something that made both Antoine's and my mouth drop open. "I love you, Antoine. Please be my boyfriend."

It was perfectly silent…

"J-Janette… I… I really don't know what to say…" Antoine responded unsuccessfully. His eyes wandered up to the sky, his face bright red.

I pressed my hands to my mouth to choke a loud gasp. I was right… I was really right… Janette _was_ in love with Antoine!

"I… well…" he tried again but Janette cut him off.

"Tell me the truth," she demanded. I could see that this needed all her courage – her hands were clenched to fists. "I want to hear the truth."

Antoine pressed his light tightly together.

"I know what Chantal proclaims everyday… But I want to hear it from you." –she took another deep breath– "Is it true what Chantal says or…"

"I…" Antoine started again, his voice rough and quiet with nervousness.

I tiptoed secretly away before he could begin with his explanation. I had heard more than enough. This was their private issue, not mine.

Now I knew it. Janette had showed me the importance of standing behind one's feelings and I would follow her example. I would go into the forest a last time. It will take all my courage and I had no idea how it will end. But I need to do this – I _must_ do it! Otherwise I would live for the rest of my life with regret and never answerable questions.

* * *

_my PC is still not working correctly so I uploaded this chap at school ^^_

_last time I told you sth. about a story I and my friend have written together - the first chap is out now!! the title is "**OlympicGames in OlymicMountains**" you can find it on my profile ;) please read it and review!! - thx!!_

_-Mulan-  
_


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter7 –Losing your mind–**

_This is insane. _I_ am absolutely insane._

But it was already too late to return home now.

"Don't be a coward," I reminded myself, trying very hard to predominate the doubts which were ghosting in my head. "You can do this. You _can_ do this."

I took another deep breath and then I entered the pitch-black forest.

I had startled in the middle of the night, bathed in sweat and tears. It had been a nightmare, I knew that, but still… it felt as if it had been _real_. I had seen him so clearly in front of me that I could almost feel the cold his body was raying, but then, at the same time, this cold made him appear so far away from me.

"_Don't come near to me! Stay away! Leave!"_ His voice echoed in my head and I shuddered.

I hadn't dreamed about anything else but this for the entire last week. I had laid in bed, rolled together like a ball, hands shaking and gasping for air, every time when I finally woke up from my own screams.

Mom and Granny had stormed in my room the first two nights. Panicked and armed with a broom because they thought that I was attacked by a thief. The last few time they didn't come so I guess that I must have somehow learned to scream quieter.

But now it was enough. I couldn't stand living in fear and incertitude any longer. I had to do something against the unknown little parasite that was eating me slowly from the inside before I lost my sanity one day. And I knew that there was only one way I could take.

I have played with that thought since I had heard Janette's confession to Antoine three days ago but I haven't been able to bring up the courage. When my eyes had flashed open tonight –the dark ceiling above me blurry from the tears in my eyes– I had known that this had to stop, _now_.

So I had put on my shoes, took a coat and left the house in the same hour.

I knew that it was absolutely headless to trip around with nightgown and open hair in the forest in the middle of the night. Heaven knew what kinds of dangers were crouching in the darkness to jump at me –a helpless little girl– the next moment.

But, to be honest, I _wanted_ to be in danger. I was really counting on some kind of hungry carnivore crossing my way because this way _he_ would come to me without me searching for him.

Later I noticed how crazy my plan was but at that moment my wish to see him was stronger that rationality.

I ended up at the meadow again. Moonlight light up the place, diving it into a mysterious silver gleam. No one was there, as I had expected.

But why did I fall on my knees and start crying when I had already known that he wouldn't be there waiting for me?

"Come to me," I sobbed, my white nightgown was soaked in my own tears.

So this was the feeling of losing your mind.

My head snapped up when I suddenly heard a rustling sound behind me. I spun around but nothing was determinable in the darkness. There wasn't anything special except for a thin branch swinging slightly though there was not the tiniest breeze.

He was here. He had been here a second ago, I could feel it.

But why did he run away instead of showing himself?

The pain of rejection shot through my chest like a bolt.

Without really thinking about it I ran back into the black forest. Like a maniac I ran deeper and deeper into the darkness, without looking which way to go, without knowing which goal to reach.

I tripped several times, branches and leaves whipped against my face, my legs hurt, my lungs felt like bursting, but still I didn't stop nor slow down.

So this was what you called: Running your soul out of your body. _(A/N)_

I had no idea how far or how long I had run. But I assume that it must have been quiet a distance.

I tripped again and this time I didn't get up to continue running heedlessly around. I tried to, but a sharp pain flashed through my right foot when I wanted to get up. I groaned, still gasping for air. I must have sprained my ankle.

I stretched my head aloft, staring at the ink-black sky. A layer of thick grey clouds passed by, covering the perfect round moon. Its light gave the clouds a silver frame, diving my surroundings in a mysterious gleam.

And for a moment I wished that it would start to rain now. I wished that a waterfall of cool raindrops would wash over me, erasing the burning pain inside me at long last.

"Where are you?" I whispered towards the snow-white moon, my throat dry and tough. "Why won't you come to me?"

Maybe it was because the events before were so slow and quiet or it were just my memories which are fading. I remembered a noise which sounded like a thunder cutting through the air and a bloodcurdling growl that made the ground start shaking. Then everything came and went so fast that I barely could distinguish what exactly was happening.

I spun around when the silence was suddenly disturbed by a sound –a howl– that reminded one how cruel and brutal the world, where we were living in, was. I saw something brown –almost orange– and a pair of pitch-black eyes, pointy furry ears and snow-white fabric waving in the wind.

And teeth – razor-sharp fangs; one set longing for me and another sinking in the small fox-red neck.

Red –everything was red– _blood-red_.

I don't know how I couldn't scream at that moment. Maybe it was the shock that pressed all air out of my lungs or maybe because my throat was already too dry to make a noise.

How many seconds had passed? Five? One hundred? Or even one thousand?

I can't remember anymore.

Sometime, the wild fox that had tried to attack me fell to the ground; it landed soundlessly in the high grass which had a sinister silver gleam from the full moon.

The fox's round eyes were torn open in fear and shock, staring up at the snow-white moon that it will never be able to see again.

Above it stood its killer – the most dangerous and beautiful killer one could ever imagine.

* * *

_A/N: "Running the soul our of your body" is a German saying... I couldn't find sth. similiar in English so I just translated the German saying ^^_


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter8 –Deal–**

We looked at each other for a very long time. Or at least it felt like a very long time. I can't tell whether my guess was right or not because I lost any feeling for time.

There were just those sad eyes of his, which shined like liquid gold in the silver moonlight, and the few metres between us.

Silence deposited itself back above the forest as if nothing had happened at all. The quietness hurt my ears. I wanted to say something but I was afraid that he would leave again. So I was content with just staring at him. His pitch-black hair, his pale-white skin, his flawless face, his golden eyes…

"You really wish to die, don't you?" he broke the silence to my surprise. His velvet voice was low with anger.

I didn't respond, I didn't understand what he meant. And why did he sound angry?

"I have never met someone so…" –He paused, shaking his head with disbelieve while searching the right words– "_stubborn _and _irresponsible_ and _careless _and…" He groaned as he couldn't find more adjectives to describe a person like me.

I bit my lip, suppressing the reflex to look away. "Don't leave me," I heard myself whisper, my voice till hoarse and too high.

He didn't reply immediately. He just continued staring at me with that pair of unbelievably deep and sad eyes. Only someone who had seen much pain could have such beautiful eyes, I guess.

"I should," he finally said after a long moment of perfect silence, his voice not louder that a whisper. He took a step towards me. "I should leave now." –another step closer– "I should have left long ago."

I shook my head, my eyes stick to his. "No," I begged. "Don't"

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. His face showed the conflict he was fighting inside himself. When he opened his eyes again they were cold and distant. "Why won't you listen to me?" he demanded, his voice filled with anger again. "Is it fun to be in danger again and again?"

I didn't know how to answer this so I just repeated the words form before. "Don't lea-"

"Have you ever thought about your family?" he suddenly shouted at me before I could finish my sentence. "Think about your parents and your grandmother! Do you really want to hurt them so much?"

I wanted to press my hands to my ears and to shut my eyes so he would stop shouting at me. But then he would disappear again so I fought the urge back.

"And what about your friends?" he continued, his words hit me like sharp knives. "_You_ might not treasure your life but _they_ do! They don't want you leave them! Have you ever counted how many people on this world love you?"

He suddenly stopped, and then when he went on, his voice changed to a soft whisper. "Have you ever thought about the agony that the ones who love you will suffer?" –he took another step closer. Now there was just one metre lying between us– "I really should have left long ago." His words sounded like a sigh.

"Why?" The word slipped through my lips before I knew what I was doing.

"Because it would be the right thing to do," he answered; his voice still quiet and soft. Despite his words he took another step towards me.

"Why?" I asked again as he lifted his foot to come a bit nearer.

He stopped in the middle of the movement and turned the step forward to a step back.

"Don't go!" I screamed with panic.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply again. I noticed that this was a habit of his to gain back control – control over whatever.

"Why," he echoed, opening his eyes to look up at the silver full moon.

The seconds ticked by while he was staring at the night sky, his face was filled with endless sadness.

"Yes, I wish someone could tell me why, too."

"What do you mean?"

He sighed and turned back to me. "I'm not the one you see me as, Chloe," he said, his sad eyes made me want to cry. "I'm not the great saviour you believe I am. I'm just the opposite. Didn't you see me kill that fox in the time other people need to blink? I'm dangerous, Chloe." –a step closer again; only about half a metre– "I'm very dangerous."

I swallowed. "I know."

He laughed; it was a bitter humourless laugh. "Do you?"

"Yes," I whispered back, using all my courage to say the next five words. "And I don't care."

He stared at me with astonishment. I assumed that he must have thought that I was insane or at least not completely healthy in my head.

"She knows I'm dangerous," he muttered, his voice was a strange monotone. "She knows that I could break her neck with a single finger… And she doesn't care…"

I bit my lip. "D-don't be mad, please."

He stared down at me for another second. Then…

"Don't be mad, she says," he repeated, his shoulders shaking with laughter in synchronization. With one graceful movement, he slid to the ground. "She asks me to not be mad about her lack of self-preservation. She wants a blood-drinking monster for company and tells me to not be mad about this. Heaven forbid!"

"So… you aren't mad?" I asked carefully.

He stopped laughing but the amused smirk stayed on his lips. "Do I look like someone who is mad?"

I watched his face concentrated for a second and just wanted to abnegate his question when he suddenly lifted his hand to my cheek.

Carefully, as if I was made of breakable china, his cool fingers touched my skin, drawing a line from cheek to chin. I saw how his eyes followed his fingers with a fascinated gleam, as if they were acting on their free will without him order them to.

Then both his hand and gaze fell on his lap. "How's your foot?" he asked when he looked back at my face after a moment.

I tried to move it and winced when a stab shot through my leg. "I-I guess it's sprained."

I didn't notice him moving closer. Suddenly his hand was on my ankle. But it didn't hurt; his hand was floating above my skin so its weight wouldn't call the pain back to life. Despite that I could feel the cold his skin was raying.

"Is it here?" he asked, his eyes lying on my foot.

I nodded hesitantly yes.

Then he closed his eyes and his brows knit in concentration.

First I wondered what he was doing and wanted to ask, but then –a second later– a sharp pain pulsed through my foot, my leg, making me gasp for air. My heart started hammering so hard that I thought it would jump out of my chest the next moment. A scream of agony escaped through my lips.

"Shh… relax, Chloe. It'll be over soon," I heard his velvet voice assuring me. "I'm sorry. It's worse than I expected."

"Make it stop!" I begged. "Make it stop, please!"

He didn't respond. Instead, he pulled me to his chest with his free arm, rubbing my back calmingly.

Slowly the pain ebbed away until I couldn't feel anything at my foot anymore.

"It's over now," he told me softly. "Move your foot again."

I had to take three deep breaths before I could move any part of my body, but when I did there was no stab in my ankle anymore. I blinked in irritation and looked down at my foot, moving it to the left and to the right. –Nothing.

"According to your expression I assume that your foot is fine now," he stated with a hint of amusement and smugness in his tone.

I looked up at him in astonishment. "How… how did you do this?"

He smiled. "It's too late to explain that now. I will tell you next time."

My face light up with hope. "Next time?"

He sighed. "Well, since you are determined to not follow my advices, I guess it's better for your safety if I play the clever one who obeys."

I felt my cheeks heat up. "Y-you mean…"

He nodded. "I agree to meet you everyday in the late afternoon at the meadow. –The meadow, nowhere else. If you're already there and I'm not, you won't trip around in the forest looking for me but wait there at the meadow for me like a good girl. –Is that a deal?"

I nodded eagerly. If I was allowed to see him, everything would be okay for me. "Yes. Deal."

He smiled and it was that heart melting smile I had seen half a week ago. I felt my heart skipped a beat.

He suddenly tensed. "You should go home now," he said and pulled me up on my feet. "I will take you to the village."

He led me home like he had done the first time we had met. He was walking at the front and I followed behind, but tonight the distance between us was a little bit smaller than it had been ten years ago.

The sun was already rising at the eastern horizon when I finally stepped out of the shadows of the trees. I must have wandered longer in the forest than I had imagined.

"Go home and get some sleep," I heard him saying and turned back to see him standing in the shadow of a big beech tree. "And don't forget our deal. I will be waiting for you."

I bet I have blushed as red as a tomato, so hot did my face feel. I nodded and turned around to hide my shame.

I had made exactly two steps when he suddenly called me again. "Chloe," –oh, how I loved him speaking my name with his velvet voice– "My name is Adrian."

I spun around but he had already disappeared.

"_Adrian_," I whispered, tasting the syllables on my tongue – it sounded so… _perfect_. I smiled. "_Adrian_."

I stayed standing in the raising sun for a while. Then I rushed back home before Mom or Granny would wake up and notice my absence.

* * *

_I know it's a little strange that I suddenly updated two chaps at once... this is because 1. I moved away and 2. I'm gonna have holidays for the next two weeks_

_-in English: THE DAMN SCHOOL IS GOING TO BE CLOSED FOR TWO F****** WEEKS AND MY INTERNET AT HOME IS STILL NOT WORKING BECAUSE OF THIS ***DAMNED MEDIA COMPANY, SO I CAN'T UPDATE IN THE NEXT TWO FREAKING WEEKS!!!!!!!!!!!! ò.ó_

_*take deep breaths*_

_well, however, so I decided to update these two chaps at once as a little "sorry" - I hope you accept my apology!! ^^ -thx!!_

_Don't forget to REVIEW!! ;)_

_see you in about two weeks!!_

_-Mulan-  
_


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter9 –****Not like usual****–**

I hadn't been able to sleep the rest of the night (or morning) although I should have dropped on bed and fell asleep immediately after all what had happened.

I tiptoed up to my room, praying that Mom and Granny wouldn't wake up to the sound of my pounding heart. It seemed that the way to my room was suddenly ten times longer than usual. When I finally reached it –shutting the door quietly behind me– I let my eyes wander around in the well-known place.

Well-known, yes, I had lived here since I was born, but still… Something was different than usual, something had changed…

I walked around, carefully, to not make any noise. My hands stroke everything that I passed by, as if I wanted to reassure myself that all was real and not just a produce of my imagination. I retraced the wood grain of my cupboard and my desk with the tip of my fingers, my nose only inches above the smooth surface, inhaling the bitter smell of wood. –All was just the same as usual, but then, at the same time, everything seemed to be totally foreign and new.

Sunlight flew in my room through the window, diving everything in a golden gleam. I stepped to the window and opened it, allowing the fresh morning air to enter.

I looked at the emerald wall of trees, the blue sky and white clouds shined purple by the rising sun. I sighed and watched silently the golden sun climbing up the sky, filling the dark night with light and warmth.

I looked up when I heard someone working in the kitchen downstairs. – Mom must have woken up.

I broke my eyes free from the beautiful scenery and went washing myself to get ready for school today. I noticed the many mud blobs on my night gown when I started to dress up. The white fabric was almost completely brown and green with mud and grass. I bit my lip.

_Momma will kill me if she sees this!_

I decided to wash it after getting home and tossed it in the deepest corner of my wardrobe.

School was like always, except for one thing. I couldn't put my hand on it properly but everything seemed to be… _lighter_ than usual. No matter where I looked, into the classroom, out of the window or at my friends – everything seemed to be perfect and raying joy.

"Chloe?"

I barely heard Fabienne calling me; I was so enchanted form the play that five little birds which were bathing in a little puddle on the school ground provided. One of them, the smallest one, stood at the border of the puddle and staring at the water with a cocked head, its tiny beady eyes showed curiosity and skepticalness.

"Chloe, I've asked you a question."

Another bird, probably the freshest and bravest one, flapped wildly with its wings and sprinkled water drops everywhere. A drip landed on the little one at the border, making the bird jump a few inches away from the puddle. It squeaked at the wet-maker reproachfully. I giggled.

"Hello? Chloe de Trèfle? Anyone at home?"

"That's useless, Claudine. Step back and watch… … _Chloe!_"

I jumped in my seat and an undefinable sound escaped through my lips.

Chantal smirked satisfied. "That's how to do it," she said smugly.

I took deep breaths and concentrated on slowing down the rhythm of my heart. "W-what happened?"

Three pairs of eyes stared at me with disbelieve.

"What happened, she asks," Chantal muttered and rolled her eyes at me.

"Don't you know it yet?" Fabienne wondered.

"Erm… what am I supposed to know?" I demanded; my head cocked to aside.

Another second of "staring-at-Chloe-funny" passed.

"She really doesn't know," Fabienne concluded, smiling amused.

"It's _so_ Chloe," Claudine giggled.

I blinked at them with a puzzled face.

Chantal sighed. "Come," she said curtly, took my hand and dragged me out of the crowed room, Claudine and Fabienne followed us on our heels.

Warm light greeted us when we stepped out on the school ground. I smiled at the golden sun and inhaled the fresh air.

"How can you smile at a time like this?" Chantal scolded when she came to a halt and turned around to look at me reproachfully.

I blinked at her irritated but the smile on my face stayed. "What do you mean?"

Her eyes narrowed slightly when she made a sneering sound. "What do you mean," she echoed in an annoyed tone.

I guess I should have been worried or suspicious or felt anything bad at least then. But my good mood was simply too strong to be blown away so quickly. I continued blinking and smiling at my best friend who seemed to want beat something (or someone) up at the moment.

"Don't you know it?" Fabienne asked again. "Haven't you heard anything about Janette and Antoine the last few days?"

I thought back but couldn't remember anything special. I must have been so deep in my own problems that I missed everything else around me. I shook my head no. "Is something wrong with them? Are they ill? They both came to class today, didn't they?"

Fabienne nodded. "Yes, that's not the point. It's… well… I expected that you would be down."

"Why?" I was still smiling brightly.

Chantal snorted and turned away, her lips pressed to a hard line, her eyes still narrowed. My happiness was annoying her somehow.

"Well…" Claudine finally started to explain. "Yesterday, we heard our mothers talking about… something…"

"Maybe it's just a rumor," Fabienne interrupted, her eyes shining with concern and unsureness. "So you don't need to be upset."

I nodded and tried to make a serious face but the smile just wouldn't leave my lips.

"Yeah, a rumor," Claudine continued after checking whether we were observed. "However, our mothers had tea together yesterday." –I nodded. Our mothers always had a tea afternoon together once a month– "And _Madame_ d'Auvert said," –Chantal made a sneering sound when Claudine mentioned her mother– "that… her sister _Madame_ Millieux told her, that her husband _Monsieur_ Millieux told her, that the pastor told him, that our principal told him, our French teacher _Mademoiselle_ Larousse told him, that the janitor _Monsieur_ Parler told her, tha-"

"_Janette has confessed Antoine her love!_" Chantal exploded. Her voice was so loud that the birds on the trees flew away panicked.

The smile on my face finally vanished to leave the space for an expression of astonishment.

A moment of perfect silence followed.

The memory of the day when I saw Janette and Antoine standing under the big oak tree came back to life. It had been exactly the place where the four of us were standing now.

"_So what is it you wanted to tell me, Janette?"_

_Depressing__ silence answered him._

"_Erm… Janette?"_

_She inhaled deeply, using all courage she had. "I love you, Antoine. Please be my boyfriend."_

Sometime, I remembered how to shut my mouth. I waited for them to continue but nothing came. I noticed that they were awaiting a comment from me. I cleared my throat. "Yes, I know."

They stared at me with big eyes, all with different emotions. Surprise, disbelieve and anger.

"You knew?" Chantal hissed in a low threatening tone.

"Erm… yes, I have always expected something like this. I told you a few weeks ago, remember?" I reminded her.

She pursed her lips, thinking back, and her face darkened even more at the memory. Chantal didn't like to be wrong.

"You have _expected_ this?" Fabienne gasped. Claudine was still staring at me with a hung open mouth, totally speechless.

I shrugged, my good mood coming back to me again. "Well, it was kind of obvious. The way how Janette looked at Antoine and how she behaved in his presence. It was pretty clear, actually."

Fabienne's mouth dropped open like Claudine's. Their eyes seemed to fall out of their sockets soon. I giggled at their faces.

"What's so funny, _Mademoiselle_ de Trèfle?" Chantal asked; her expression still annoyed. I opened my mouth to reply but she cut me off. "Do you think this is _funny_?"

I blinked puzzled. "Erm…"

"Janette and Antoine – _together_!" she complained loudly. "That's…" –she bit her lip, looking for the right word– "_wrong_!"

"Why? Isn't it great when two people love each other?" I interjected, my voice raying with delight.

She shot me an angry glance. "Are you kidding?" –her voice was quiet and threatening again– "Chloe, tell you're kidding."

"Erm… I'm not?"

Her hands started to shake with rage and her eyes gained a dangerous red shade. "_Chloe de Trèfle!_ How dumb can you be?"

I winced and duck my head. I was used to my best friend's bad patience and her habit to loose her nerves easily, but this was the first time that she had shouted at me so loud. Claudine and Fabienne seemed to be surprised too.

"_All the years_," Chantal groaned, pacing around like a tiger in a cage. "_All the years_ with him running after her like a freak. _All the years_ with me telling her permanently. And now, when he received another girl's confession she says that it's _great_ that the two of them had found each other!"

"But, Chantal," I tried to calm her down. "Why shouldn't it be a good thing then? We are supposed to be happy for them, aren't we?"

She looked at me for a long moment, her features becoming softer and softer with each breath she took. But she didn't look fine after she had calmed down – she looked kind of… _desperate_. "You really don't understand it, don't you?" It sounded like a sigh.

I cocked my head to aside. "What don't I understand?"

She looked at me silently for another long moment, her eyes sad and somehow disappointed. "Never mind," she whispered in the end. Then she left without another word.

Chantal avoided looking at me for the rest of the day. During all lessons she didn't even turn her head towards my direction. She just kept staring straight forward to the board, her face an unreadable mask.

It bothered me. I have never seen her like that. So… _silent_ and _emotionless_, it made me nervous. And so it made the rest of our friends nervous. Fabienne and Claudine an anxious glance at me and Chantal threw now and then. The boys had noticed the tension among us, too, to my utter surprise. Dominique chewed permanently on the end of his pencil and would stop to look secretly at us every two minutes for about two seconds, before he turned back to his desk and continue knock his teeth in his demolished pencil. Louis sat directly in front of us and I could see how his head winced nervously around. His pen fell from the desk accidentally. When he bended down to pick it up I saw his hands were shaking. Julien –the quietest and most responsible one among us– just looked at Chantal's and then at my face once, but for a very long time. His blue eyes bored deep into my green ones and I had the feeling that he could read my mind. He didn't look at us again after staring at us for about an entire minute with his sea-blue eyes. His attention wandered back to Antoine who was sitting next to him and I guessed that the situation between his best friend and his twin sister had priority at the moment.

But although the others seemed to be extremely anxious about it, I really couldn't see a problem in all this.

Janette had confessed Antoine her love. –So what?

It was a good thing, wasn't it? Shouldn't we feel happy for our two precious friends? So why was everyone making such a big tantrum because of this?

I looked at my friends. –Claudine, Dominique, Fabienne, Louis, Julien –and at last– Chantal. None of them seemed to make a happy face…

I bit my lip. What was going on here?

I turned to Janette. She was staring at the board, but her face didn't show concentration, it looked tied. Her skin was a little paler than usual and her eyes, which usual sparkled like a pair of sapphires, seemed dull and watery, like the sky when it was covered by a thin shroud of mist. She didn't look happy, but she didn't look sad either. It was as if she was… waiting. The waiting made her tied but she still continues to wait because she hopes that her patience will be requited in the end.

Was this the face of a beautiful girl who got the prince of her dreams? Maybe…

Antoine sat in the last row –it was the farthest seat from Janette who was sitting on the very right of the first row– so I couldn't simply turn around to look at him without the teacher notice (my seat was on the very left of the second row directly at the window).

I frowned. I needed to check on Antoine if I wanted to know whether my theory was right or not. But before I could think of a good idea the teacher called me to read the next passage as if he had read my intentions to not concentrate on the lesson. I got up and started reading; the Janette-and-Antoine-task would have to wait until the end of classes.

Chantal jumped up and rushed out of the room as soon as the teacher had announced that the class was dismissed. I didn't even notice her get up; she was simply gone when I looked up after packing my books. And so was Antoine.

I walked out of our little school building slowly – if I walked fast while being deep in thoughts I would trip with a hundred percent guarantee. I was one of the last ones crossing the front doorstep, because today was Saturday everyone wanted to get home faster to enjoy the next free day.

I saw Chantal and Antoine standing at the gate, discussing about something serious apparently. They stopped abruptly when they saw me coming. Antoine's cheeks blushed in a bright red.

"Chantal, Antoine," I greeted them, trying to sound enthusiastic. "Can I go home with you two?"

"I need to hurry," Chantal abnegated to my disappointment. It seemed that she was still angry with me. "I promised _mamman_ to help her to make… er… raspberry-jam today."

I frowned. "But your mother is allergic against raspberry, Chantal."

"Who said that it was for her," she replied, looking everywhere but at my face. "It's… for my father."

"Doesn't he hate sweet things?" I interjected.

She pressed her lips together to a hard line. "That she remembers," she muttered and stomped away, leaving me and her cousin back.

I cocked my head to aside. What was wrong with my tough, fresh, heady friend Chantal?

"Erm…" Antoine broke the silence, scratching the back of his head, his face still red. "Shall we go then?"

I smiled and nodded. "Sure."

The way home was surprisingly quiet – almost too quiet. Antoine's face changed colors like a chameleon – pink, red, bright red, chalk white and red again. If I hadn't worried about him before the scene would have been very amusing, I guess. I didn't say a word though the silence between us felt so unnatural and uncomfortable that it hurt my nerves. I assumed that he was deep in thoughts so I didn't want to disturb him.

I looked up at the sky and for the first time today I noticed how late it already was. It was already afternoon – late afternoon. My eyes widened in shock.

"_I agree to meet you everyday in the late afternoon at the meadow… I will be waiting for you."_

I was late! This was probably my only chance and I would be _late_!

I winced when Antoine suddenly cleared his throat. "Chloe, are you okay?"

"Yes, sure," I answered a little too fast.

He raised an eyebrow but didn't ask further questions on that topic. Good thing that he and his cousin were so different. "If you say so," he said instead. Then suddenly his cheeks turned bright pink again and his voice was a little higher and quieter than usual. "Erm… Chloe… I… can I ask you… something?"

"Sure," I responded without looking at him, my eyes were glued to the emerald-green forest now. "Go ahead."

"Umm… it's… it's about something… private."

"We are friends," I said frivolously, still not looking at him. "Just ask whatever you like to."

I heard him take a deep breath. "I was just… wondering… well… I know it's none of my business actually, but… er… I'm… curious…"

"Go ahead," I encouraged him. –_Was there just a movement at the tree over there?_

Another deep breath. "A-are you… in love… with someone, Chloe?"

My head finally spun around, turning my attention to him. I started at his tomato-red face with big eyes. I couldn't say a word.

Did he possibly know something about –I felt like sighing just when I thought the name– _Adrian_? And if yes, how could he know? Had he met –another inner sigh– Adrian, too? But _when_?And _where_?

The red in his face became –against my assumption– stronger. "Y-you don't have to answer if you don't want to! I-I'm sorry that I asked you something so private and… and _indecent_."

I continued staring at him speechlessly. My mouth hung open like an O.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry, Chloe!" Antoine went on apologizing, his voice rolled over with excitement. I had never heard him talk so fast. "I really never should have… oh, I'm so sorry, Chloe! Please forgive me! What just happened to me? I never should have listened to Chantal!"

"Wait!" I finally managed to gasp. He was quiet instantly. "Ch-Chantal… told you to ask me… _that_?"

He looked down at his feet, his face pink now. "Well, _encouraged_ is the better word, I suppose."

I blinked in irritation.

"I… I've always… wanted to ask you…"

My mouth dropped open again but this time I remembered how to shut it again fast. "You… always… huh?" –I frowned in confusion– "Why?"

He looked down at me, his dark brown eyes looked straight in my green ones. His face still showed embarrassment but there was also the hint of something else. –Sadness perhaps?

He opened his mouth, ready to say something, but then shut it again quickly. "Not important. Don't worry about it," he told me in the end with a gentle smile. It, too, looked sad. Then his smile grew bigger, increased to the bright dimple smile that only Antoine could make. "We have more than enough other things to worry, don't we? Puh… the maths homework we got today will be hard. What is _Monsieur Bâteau _thinking? Does he really believe I like to pass my precious free Sunday with two pages of math-exercises?"

He went on babbling but I didn't listen to him anymore. _We have more than enough other things to worry._ Yes, indeed, I really had something more –much more– important thing to worry.

I looked back at the sky. The sun was lowed than before and the clouds had gained a slight pink shade.

"Umm, Antoine?" I cut him off in his flow of words. "I promised _mamman_ to get some flowers today."

"Oh, erm, sure," he said, the slight sad gleam crawled back on his face. "I'll see you tomorrow or at school then, I guess."

I nodded with a smile. "Sure, _au revoir_." I waved goodbye and almost ran in the beautiful forest, my smile grew bigger with each step I took in anticipation.


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter10 –****An old Story–**

The schoolbag slid out of my hands when I discovered the empty meadow. The sun was already so low that only the highest tree tops were enlighten by a few golden sunrays. Although it is impossible I was sure that my heart had stopped beating.

_He wasn't here. I was too late._

My legs and arms started to shake and a lump formed in my throat.

"_And don't forget our deal. I will be waiting for you."_

A salty flavor spread in my mouth and I noticed that a few tears had escaped out of my eyes. I didn't dry them, I didn't move at all, I _couldn't_ move. My hands felt like stones – heavy and cold. My entire body felt like something far away, like something that wasn't mine, like something new and foreign. Staring at the emptiness in front of me was the only task I was capable of.

"I'm late. I'm sorry."

My head snapped up and I spun around. He was standing directly behind me, his face sad and wreathed in pain.

Driven by relief and another unknown power I took a step –erasing the last bit distance between us– and wrapped my arms around his torso. "You made me wait," I mumbled in his cold chest.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, his voice suddenly rougher than before.

For a while no one of us said a word. It was absolutely silent, even the usual sounds of the forest were gone. There were just the sound of our breaths and my quiet sobs. But unlike the last few times this silence didn't hurt my ears. This silence was _perfect_ because he didn't break it to ask me let go of him. He allowed me hugging him for what seemed like a little eternity. I was sure that this was the most beautiful moment of my life.

He decided to end the silence in the end with a sigh.

I looked up at his gorgeous face interrogatingly.

He chuckled at my expression, his sweet cool breath washed over my face. "We are a lost case, aren't we?"

I blinked in irritation. "Huh?"

He chuckled again, it sounded so beautiful. "Standing is uncomfortable," he suddenly changed the subject. "Why don't we sit down?" He nodded towards something behind me.

I shook my head fiercely and pressed myself harder against the length of his body. "No, I like standing."

He laughed but didn't argue. Suspicion woke up in me; he usually – no _always_ would argue. But before I could come up with a logical reason for his strange behavior the ground under my feet suddenly vanished.

A shriek of surprise escaped through my lips when I noticed him carrying me on his arms – _bridal style_. "Let me down!" I demanded, giggling.

He laughed; it was the most harmonious melody I had ever heard. "No, better not. With your luck you would probably just sprain your ankle again."

"That's not true," I objected when he put me down on the fallen tree trunk at the meadow.

He grinned freshly. "Truth hurts, my dear."

I blushed. Did he just call me "_my dear_"?

He sighed. "I know I shouldn't, but it's simply impossible for me to not like your blushing face," he said in a whisper, his golden eyes looking at me so intensely that my cheeks become even hotter, his words add the rest.

"So…" –he bended down to my face– "warm."

My heart skipped a beat and I leaned closer without ordering my body to do so.

He was gone instantly.

I jumped up to my feet, my head spinning around, my eyes torn wide open with panic. What was going on? Have I done anything wrong? "A-Adrian?" I called; my voice not louder than a whisper.

"I'm here." I turned around, finding him standing hidden in the shadow of the trees at the farthest end of the meadow. "Stay where you are… I just need a moment…"

Despite his advice I stepped nearer to see his face. His eyes were pressed shut, his brows knit in concentration, his lips formed to a hard line. He was standing – no _frozen_ at one place, his hands clenched to fists, so hard that I believed that the bones underneath would break through his beautiful skin the next second.

"Adrian?" I asked carefully.

He didn't react.

My eyes fell to the ground. "I'm sorry."

"Why do you apologize?" he asked back, his voice suddenly louder and nearer.

My head snapped up, seeing him standing right in front of me – I could touch his cold skin if I just lifted my hand. My heartbeat increased. "How did you do this?" I gasped.

He smiled. "You answer my question first then I'll answer yours."

I looked down again. –There were just inches between the tips of our feet! I blushed. "I did something wrong," I replied in a whisper. "I don't know what, but something I did upset you."

He lifted my chin with his long cool fingers, making me look into his eyes, or maybe he just wanted to look into mine. "I'm different," he said after a while; it sounded like a sigh. "My outer appearance might look like everyone else's, but I'm not like everyone else. I'm not human." His voice broke at the last word.

"What do you mean?" I wondered, fighting the urge back to stroke his face with my fingers. I didn't know why but being together with me seemed to need all of his strength.

He watched me for a long time, searching for the right words I guessed. "What kind of… special features have you noticed on me?" he decided to ask in the end.

"_Your inhuman perfect looks," _I almost said but stopped myself just in time. "Umm… I don't know how to describe it, but sometimes I have the feeling you know exactly when and where I am in danger."

He commented that with a stiff nod. "What else?"

"Well… umm…"

"The fox," he helped my memory.

"The fox?" I thought back. "Well, that wasn't so… unusual, was it?"

He raised an eyebrow. "I killed it with my bare hands."

"You saved me that way," I interjected.

He shook his head in disbelieve; an amused but also bitter smile decorated his face. "You are impossible. How can you see in a murder a positive point?"

"It wasn't murder," I disagreed, wincing at his choice of words. "It was self-defense."

He laughed. "See, that's what I mean."

"Would you answer my question now?" I reminded him, changing the subject.

His laughter stopped instantly. "Haven't I just answered it? I'm not… normal."

"Yes," I admitted, my eyes wandering down towards the ground again. "But… how can you be so fast and…" –I remembered last night– "and how did you heal my ankle?" –I swallowed– "_What_ exactly are you?"

His body suddenly tensed when I asked the last question, but he didn't take his hand form my chin. Instead, it wandered up to cup my cheek. I shuddered slightly at the cold. His hand disappeared.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'm making you feel cold."

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine." I took his hand in mine –suppressing a shiver– to underline my words. His pale slender fingers looked so long next to my small ones.

He didn't pull his hand back; instead, he started with his explanations – at last. "Speed is an ability given to me when… I became what I am now. All the others of my kind are abnormally fast, too."

"There are more people like you?" I goggled.

He nodded. "Yes, but I'd like you not meet them." His yaw tightened and his golden eyes darkened a bit.

"So all of you are fast and can heal injuries?" I tried to blow away his sudden tension with the next question.

It worked, his eyes melted to liquid gold instantly. "Running fast – yes. Healing injuries – no. That's just a gift that only I have."

I smiled. "I always knew you are a unique person," I said without thinking about it. I blushed when I heard my own words.

His eyes widened a bit in astonishment but then he smiled. "Everyone on this planet is uniqueness itself." –his face clouded– "Even a monster like me."

I shook my head fiercely. "You are not a monster!" I objected resentfully. "You are one of the most helpful and kind-hearted persons I have ever met!"

He laughed; it was a humorless laugh. "That's the first time someone describes me with these kinds of adjectives."

I didn't respond; I didn't know how to respond. His words sounded so sad – so sad that they could be nothing but the truth. I lifted my hand, stroking with the tip of my fingers his cold smooth cheek. It was like stroking a block of marble and it felt surprisingly good. He closed his eyes, leaning in the touch. "Mmm… Really should go…" he moaned.

I shook my head and my other hand gripped his harder. "No, you can't," I whispered.

"No, I guess I really can't…" he admitted with a sigh. "Mmm… so tired… so tired of staying away from you…"

"Then don't," I suggested. "If you're tired then sleep."

He chuckled. "Sleep would be nice. Too bad I can't sleep."

I blinked in confusion. "You… _can't_ sleep?"

He opened his eyes, his face raying amusement but also a little hint of bitterness. "No, I can't sleep."

I felt my mouth drop open.

He laughed. "Surprised?"

Although my mouth was torn wide open I wasn't able to make a single noise.

"It's another reparability of… my kind."

I nodded slowly, my neck felt somehow stiff.

He lifted his free hand to my chin, helping me to shut my mouth. "Are you okay?" he asked concerned.

"Hmm… I'm just wondering…" –I looked up at him, my brows knit with skepticism– "You really don't sleep?"

"No." He sounded amused again.

"Never?"

"Never."

"B-but…" I shook my head, lost at words. "How… how is that… _possible_?"

He shrugged. "I don't know either. I guess my body just doesn't need or can't use the recovery which sleep gives."

I cocked my head to aside, wanting to ask him, but I kept the words on my tongue. I had already asked him before and he hadn't answered it. He didn't want to answer that question, I could see that. But I really wished to know more and more about him, to understand him at last.

He saw the conflict in my eyes. With a finger he rubbed the frown between my brows away. "Stop thinking about it," he said softly, reading my intentions. "You don't want to know that. Trust me."

"But I _want_ to understand you," I insisted. "And therefore I need to know... _what_… you are."

He sighed, closed his eyes and shook his head. "It's better for you to not know." –he paused, his eyes suddenly wide with hope– "Or… no, maybe it would be good for you to know."

I blinked in surprised at his sudden change of opinion.

"Yes, maybe you would be finally reasonable and keep away from me if you knew the truth."

I opened my mouth to object, to promise him that I would never leave him no matter what happened, but he put a finger on my lips to silence me.

He looked in my eyes for a very long time as if he wanted to say goodbye, as if he was planning on never see me again. His expression made tears climb up in my eyes, I blinked them away quickly.

"Chloe," he began, his velvet voice sounded like the most beautiful piece of music when he vocalized my name. "Have your parents or grandmother ever told you stories about blood drinking monsters?"

I shuddered slightly at the last three words but tried to think back.

I remembered one evening.

_It was already dark outside; it seemed that someone had __dyed the sky with a bottle of black ink. It was Halloween and because of the storm all my friends gathered at my house to play instead of wandering from house to house and demand for sweets._

"_Spine-chiller__!" I think it was Chantal who had demanded for it._

_Granny smiled a mysterious smile that I had never seen on her before, it scared me. "Are you sure?" she asked in a low whisper. "I mean, are you really, really sure that your little nerves are ready for this?"_

_Chantal and the boys nodded eagerly, proving their bravery. I and the other girls nodded hesitantly after a second, jiggling secretly closer to the warm fireplace._

"Bien_." The scary smile on Granny's face grew bigger. She took a sip of her steaming tea and started speaking in a mysterious tone. "Long, long time ago –I can't tell when exactly because uncountable many years have already passed since then– there was a young man who lived on a farm in a little village, as small as ours. He was a virtuous and honest person –never betraying a friend and always acting with God's blessing–, his parents were very proud of having such a good son. One day, it was a cloudy winter day before Christmas, big grey clouds forecasted the sky; the air was heavy pressing upon you, all signs foreboded a great storm just like the one we have tonight. Because the animals on the farm hadn't been fed that day, the young man went despite his mother's advices out to feed the animals. He said that these animals were his friends and that he and his family couldn't live without them so he must treat them well. When the young man reached the shed and had finished his duty, he noticed that one hoarse was missing. Someone had opened the door and stolen his family's hoarse! Driven by his strong sense of justice, he quickly saddled another hoarse and set off to the forest in order to find the culprit. While he was in the forest, searching for a clue to find the culprit, it started to rain. Strong winds blew through the forest, almost sweeping him from his hoarse. Then lightning and thunder filled the sky. The hoarse startled and went wild, the young man needed all his strength to not fall off the galloping hoarse. Suddenly a totally different sound mingled with the howl of the wind. It was a high bell-like voice and though it was obviously a scream for help it sounded like the most beautiful song. Led by curiosity and helpfulness, the young man turned his hoarse towards the direction where the voice came from. Without noticing it he went deeper and deeper into the forest and the storm grew stronger and stronger, the thick grey clouds covered the sun that it was as dark as night in the forest, the only things which were not black were the millions and millions of snowflakes. Then, when his whole body was shaking with cold and he couldn't feel his toes and fingers anymore, he discovered a human looking person crouching under a tree in the snow. She was small and fragile, like a fairy, her smooth hair long and shining like a waterfall of liquid gold, her body was shaking with sobs. Suddenly the hoarse went wild again, it nickered loudly as if it was fighting for his life. The sudden reaction took the young man off guard, he fell from the hoarse which galloped away, disappearing into the pitch-black woods. The young man got up, rubbing his hurting limbs with his ice-cold hands with a groan. 'Are you feeling well?' the beautiful voice asked him and when he looked up, he saw the most angelic woman standing in front of him. He stammered a yes. The foreign woman smiled a smile that could only belong to a goddess and stroke the young man's cheek with a long slender finger, it was as cold as the snow he was sitting on and just as pale as it. 'You came so far to rescue me,' the woman said with her angel-voice, her sweet breath washed over his face like a cold breeze. 'What a good boy you are.' And then, with these words, she bended down to sink her brilliant sharp white teeth in his _neck_."_

I gasped, just like I had done that stormy night.

"Do you remember something?" Adrian's velvet voice demanded.

I looked up at him, his face soft and concerned. He seemed composed, as if he was awaiting me to run away the next moment, and I knew that he wouldn't keep me back from leaving. He had always just wanted one thing for me – being safe.

I nodded, hesitantly, watching his reaction.

His expression didn't change. "Tell me then," he asked for. "Tell me what I am."

I shook my head, looking down again. "I'm probably wrong." I hoped that I was wrong. It was simply impossible that such a wonderful person like him could be something like the woman in the story.

He lifted my chin with his cool fingers, making me look into his eyes. "You are not," he said, his tone sure. "I can see it in your eyes. Tell me, Chloe… what am I?"

"_What kind of monster was that woman, Grandma de Trèfle?" I think it was Claudine who had asked in the end._

"_Don't you know?" Granny asked back, her face serious now. "Have you never heard of these monsters? The monsters which only come at night because the sun would burn them to ashes? The monsters which creep into your rooms to suck the blood out of your body?"_

_We winced at the last words, moving closer together. We shook our heads no in synchronization._

"_Than it is really time for you to know because these monsters are one of the most dangerous ones you can imagine," Granny whispered._

"_Wh-what are they?" Even Chantal's voice was shaking._

_Granny took another sip of her tea which had already cooled down in the mean while. Outside, a lightning shoot across the pitch-black sky; followed by a bloodcurdling thunder. "These blood-drinking creatures are called-"_

"Vampire," I breathed. "You are a _vampire_."

* * *

_okay, okay... I know that the end of this chap has a few similarities with the "twilight-movie"..... I tried very VERY hard to make it different - I swear I did!! ._

_The story Chloe's Granny tells is completly invented by myself ^^ I have searched for old French vampire-legends but couldn't finde any specific ones... they are all pretty the "normal" ones..... ^^ so I just came up with this story - hope you like it ^^_

_please review!! ^o^ thx!!_

_-Mulan-_

_PS. why won't anybody review "OlympicGames at OlympicMountains"??? It's really killing me!! T.T if you haven't got anything to do right now then read it and review please!! -thx!! ^^_


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter11 –****Power of Persuasion–**

"Vampire – you are a _vampire_."

As soon as I had spoken out these words, he pulled me in his arms. I didn't even have the time to blink. It was as if I had been standing in front of him and then my face was pressed against his marble chest the next second, my feet floating a few inches above the ground.

"Clever girl," he whispered, his voice dampened by my hair. "The lucky guy who will win your heart one day."

I wasn't able to reply. His wonderful scent dazzled me –so unbelievably sweet, like sugar and honey but together, but then it smelled totally different than honey or sugar; it was much, much better–, making my head feel lighter, as if I was flying but the clouds befogged my view, which made my body heavier with tiredness. Then as sudden as before when he'd embraced me, he pushed me away again, setting me back on my own feet.

He watched me for a very long moment, his pure golden eyes scanning me inch by inch, slowly and concentrated, sliding over my eyes, my cheeks, my nose, my lips… as if he wanted to memorize every strand of hair of min, as if he wanted to engrave me in his mind.

He whispered something that sounded like "star" but I wasn't sure about that, it had been too quiet for me to comprehend.

Then, slowly –or at least it seemed slow in my eyes– he turned his back toward me. Finally, I understood the connection between his strange words and actions.

Although it was impossible –theoretically, if he really intended to leave immediately– I took a hasty step and managed to grab his ice-cold hand before he could disappear. I felt him wince and froze in reaction but he didn't back up.

"Don't go," I pleaded with a hoarse voice after a long pause. "You promised you wouldn't leave."

He didn't respond, neither did he move.

"We have a deal," I reminded him, my grip tightened. "You can't just go back on your words."

Still no reaction, his motionlessness made me even more nervous.

"I-if you go now then I'll follow you," I threatened, but my voice didn't sound the slightest bit threatening, it was quiet the opposite, my voice was trembling with anxiety. "I'll look for you in the forest as long as it takes me to find you again."

I waited but he still kept silent so I decided to continue my monologue. But surprisingly he cut me off before I could finish the first word.

"Why are you doing this?" His voice was so quiet that I barely heard anything. "Why are you making things always so complicated?"

"_I_'m making things complicated?" I demanded confused, my voice now louder with anger. _He_ was the one who always made things way too complicated than they already were! I dug my nails in his hand but he didn't seem to notice it.

He sighed, long and heavy. "Say it again."

"Huh?"

"What am I?" he repeated his words from before. "Say it again."

"For what?" I acted stubborn. A little part in me wondered where this sudden trace of insubordination was coming from but the annoyance was stronger. "We're the only persons here and we both know wh-"

"Just say it," he interrupted me, his voice sounded like a hiss. "I want to be sure that I'm not hallucinating."

I raised an eyebrow. "_Hallucinating_?" I echoed; my voice heavy with acid – his permanent and unpredictable mood swings were making me sick. "Why should you be ha-"

"Just say it." He obviously had pressed these words our between his teeth.

I didn't obey immediately on purpose, if he was allowed to make me wait for answers then he could exercise himself in patience, too. It was time for him to take a dose of his own medicine. I can't remember to have ever been so angry.

"Fine," I led him off the hook when I decided that enough time had passed. "You are a vampire."

He spun around, the movement so fast that I hadn't even seen it. To say that he looked "angry" would be an understatement – a _very_ big understatement. His lips were pressed together to a hard line, his jaw tight –it reminded me on a rock–, his golden eyes suddenly several shades darker and solid like granite, they bored into mine that I felt as tiny as an ant on the ground. _Wild_ – that was what he looked like at that moment.

"Say it again," he ordered.

"You're a vampire," I muttered sheepishly, obeying immediately this time – it was much too clear that he didn't allow any kind of disobedience now.

He stared at me for another moment. "So?"

"So what?"

He inhaled deeply throw his nose, his eyes closed in concentration. "So, don't you feel like doing something?" he helped my slow brain. "Like run away screaming for example?"

I frowned, confused. "No… why should I?"

His eyes flashed open; they were narrow and dark with rage. "Do you know that you're driving me insane in the very moment?"

"I'm driving you insane?" I wondered. "Why?"

"Because _you_ are insane," he snapped.

"Why am I _insane_ now?" I pouted.

He sighed, it sounded desperate somehow. "And I just called her clever," he muttered, just loud enough for me to hear. "What's wrong with this girl?"

Suddenly I saw red. _He_ was the lunatic here and called _me_ insane?! "What's wrong with _you_?" I countered, getting more and more impatient with his mysterious statements. "Maybe you haven't noticed yet, but _I_'m not the one living in the forest and saving foreign girls from dying every now and then!" –he winced slightly at my sudden outburst and the volume of my voice. He opened his mouth to object but I didn't even give him the chance to say "beep"– "_I_'m not the one breaking in other people's houses at midnight! _I_'m not the one appearing out of nowhere –scaring the _hell_ out of others by the way– and then pop into thin air right afterwards! _I_'m not the one smiling and then shooting daggers at the same person from one blink to the next! _I_'m not the one riddling all the time, always throwing cryptic comments around like confetti on carnival! –So don't tell me there'd be something wrong with _me!_ What the hell is wrong with _you?!_"

I took deep breaths to calm down and finally I noticed his torn open eyes, staring at me in awe. Then I recognized what I had just said –no, _screamed_– at him. I turned bright red. He was right; there was something wrong with me, definitely.

Suddenly, his shoulders started shaking and a snicker broke through his lips, the chuckling became louder and louder until his whole body was shaking with booming laughter. "I've to admit," he managed to gasp between his snickers. "I'm _hugely_ impressed. No one had ever dared to shout at me like that." –believe it or not but I felt my face become even hotter– "That was really… wow. You're unbelievable, Chloe – _unbelievable_!"

And so, because of my "_unbelievable power of persuasion_" –or his good sense of humor–, he stayed and never mentioned the idea to leave again. From that day on it became a natural task for me to go to the meadow every afternoon.

We didn't do anything special, just sitting together on the fallen tree trunk or in the high grass and talking about absolutely trivial things like my day at school or what had happened in the village the last few days. Sometimes we didn't even say anything, we would just sit side by side, our fingers interlaced with the other one's, and simply enjoy the perfect moment of being together.

Then, when the sun had vanished behind the trees that encircled the meadow and night began to spread its dark veil over the sky, I would return home.

"It's late," he reminded me every time with the same words.

I always commented that with a sigh, but I never protested because I knew that there was no point in arguing and because I knew that he was right, I had to go home.

He always accompanied me to the border of the forest; we always reached that place just in time to see the last sun rays disappear behind the mountains at the horizon. We never said "Good bye", because I didn't want to say anything that sounded the slightest bit similar to "Farewell". He seemed to think about that the same way or at least he knew how I felt about it and respected it. A kiss on my right hand – that was his version to wish me a good night and a nice day until we would meet again after twenty-four hours.

It was the most beautiful period of my life –of my ever being– ever. Although they were just blurry human memories I had never forgotten them.

It was the simply best time of my existence – a time of happiness and dreams, of sweetness and perfection, of joy and light.

But where light is, there is also darkness…

* * *

_well well... patience is a virtue! XDD Chloe is a very patient person I guess - but she too is just human XDD it was soooooo~~~ fun to write her outburst!! XDD I've to do that more often! XDD *giggle* and she's so SLOW! :D it's so funny to write about a person like Chloe! ;)_

_hope you liked this chap ^^ the next chaps are going to be.... hmm..... "darker" as you can tell from the last sencence T.T_

_please review!! ^o^_

_-Mulan-_

_PS. thx to all the ones who read "Olympic" ^^ *love you!!* :D_


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter****12–To act strange–**

Everything was so brilliant that I hadn't even noticed how the days flew pass me. Suddenly it was August and then the twenty-seventh.

"Happy Birthday!" All my friends jumped up when I entered the kitchen in the early morning.

I froze –a habit I had learned form Adrian– and blinked. "W-what…"

"Now you're sixteen, too, Chloe – at last!" Dominique congratulated.

"You little girl has grown up!" Claudine and Fabienne squealed.

I frowned, still irritated. "Sixteen?" Then it finally clicked. "Today is my birthday," I gasped. "I'm sixteen now."

Eight pairs of eyes stared at me, questioning my sanity.

"She's _fast_," Chantal commented sarcastically.

"Yeah, unbeatable," Antoine agreed, grinning amused.

"Honestly, Chloe, have you really forgotten your own birthday?" Louis teased.

"Of course not!" I lied but my face betrayed me by turning bright pink.

"How do you forget your own birthday?" Claudine wondered, shaking her head in disbelieve. "How's that _possible_?"

"Chloe will always be Chloe," Janette stated with acted objectiveness.

Suddenly, the moment Janette had raised her voice, the atmosphere in the room turned tense. The carefree laughter had changed into a nervous –almost hysterical– chuckle. Claudine and Fabienne exchanged unsure glances; Louis rubbed nervously his fingertips against each other, and Dominique suddenly found out that our kitchen's ceiling was the most fascinating object in the entire world.

The only ones who didn't act very noticeable strangely were Antoine, Chantal, Julien and Janette herself.

Antoine was still laughing but there was an edge of uneasiness in it and his hand was rummaging in his hair, making it even messier than it already was. Chantal had stopped laughing though. Lost in thoughts, she chewed on her lower lip and stared at me. – No, not at me. If you looked very closely you would recognize that she was just pretending looking at me, actually she was staring pass me into the distance. Janette had stopped laughing too; her whole body showed that she felt uncomfortable here. She bit her lip so hard that I was afraid she might start bleeding. Her usual beautiful blue eyes were burning… with _agony_? I couldn't be sure because her eyes fell on the floor the next second, her teeth digging deeper into her full lip – I bet there was going to be a mark for the next hour. Julien was calm, like always. But there was something in his eyes that stood in total contrast with his relaxed façade – he seemed to be… angry…

Before I could think about the reason behind this weird scene in front of me, Mom and Granny entered the room and the negative atmosphere vanished instantly as if a strong wind had blown the tension away like fallen leaves in autumn.

"_Bon anniversaire, ma chèrie_," they greeted me, both giving me a hug and a kiss on my cheek.

"Now you are a grown-up lady," Mom said and sighed as if she was suddenly older than Granny.

"Sixteen!" Granny almost screamed, it surprised me – she usually was a very calm and composed woman, not a hysterical girl like her granddaughter was. "It seems just like yesterday when I rocked you in my arms to sleep. How did time fly pass so fast?"

"And we didn't even notice it!" Momma added, her eyes began to water.

My friends giggled quietly.

Oh my… if they were already going "Cry-about-the-good-old-times" at my sixteenth birthday, then what would happen if I got _married_?

I felt my face heat up when I came to that thought. Well, now I had another good reason to not tell them anything about Adrian…

"_Maman_? When will Daddy be home?" I asked in order to change the subject.

She opened her mouth but shut it again before saying anything, her face clouded with disappointment.

I bit my lip. I had a misgiving somehow… "He will come, will he?" I demanded, my voice shaking a little bit with fear. Mom took my hand in hers and stroked it soothingly. I repressed the urge to cry. "He said he would come. – He promised." My voice broke at the end.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. He sent us a letter two weeks ago and told us that he won't be able to come today," she explained softly. "It's summer now so he has to work almost twice as much than usual, you know that."

I knew that, yes, I really did. But I couldn't _understand_ it. He had always found time to come and celebrate my birthday with us no matter how busy he had been. He was my _father_ after all – he couldn't just miss his one and only daughter's sixteenth birthday!

"He really wanted to come," Granny assured me, rubbing my back with her warm hand. "He wrote that he wouldn't wish anything but to be here today, you know that. But he also has his duties to pull, do you understand?"

"Yes… but… it's not fair," I pouted. "How can he simply leave me alone on my birthday?"

"Alone? And who are we then?" Chantal interjected, waving at my friends with an exaggerated gesture. "Decoration for the house?"

"We are trees!" Dominique and Louis declared, both rising their arms up in the air and standing stark and stiff on one place.

I giggled, relaxing a little. "Since when do we have trees in the house, _maman_?"

"Hmph," she sighed theatrically and shrugged. "Someone must have brought some seeds in the house by accident."

"I will go get the axe," Granny offered with a death serious face, heading towards the door.

"What?!" Louis shouted panicked.

"Oi, it's proved that trees are also living beings!" Dominique pointed out. "Felling a tree is the same as murder!"

We laughed and with that –when the sound of joy and happiness filled the house, chasing all tension away– I forgot all worries I'd had a minute before.

The day passed by spending time with my friends. We played several games like making a little cake-contest – girls versus boys. Of course us girls won – the boys had accidentally burned their cake by deciding to play "a few" rounds of cards after putting the cake into the oven. When we had finished eating the cakes –the boys' one was still eatable, preconditioned you had a strong stomach like Dominique who claimed that their cake was ten times better than ours–, we played cards and other board games, chatting carefreely about school, teachers and other normal teenage stuff.

But although everything seemed great the atmosphere didn't feel right somehow. There was something about the way Janette stared at her cards, out of the window or on the wooden floor. During the entire day she barely spoke a word, it was as if she wasn't present at all and the way the others acted it really felt as if she was just thin air.

My friends left in the evening to go home for dinner. Mom, Granny and I invited them to stay but their good manners told them to leave and Chantal had said that she would wake up the next morning and find herself been turned into a giant balloon if she ate more of my mother's unbeatable specialities now. I waved them goodbye one by one, smiling bright and grateful to have my friends. It had been a very long time since we had passed an entire day together like that and it felt incredibly good to know and to see that I had such great friends who really cared for me from the cores of their hearts.

"Chloe, can we have a talk?"

I paused and blinked in irritation when Julien asked me that. He turned on his heels and headed towards the trees at the border of the forest without waiting for a response. Julien didn't talk much to me –well, actually he never talked a lot at all– but there was something in his voice that showed the importance of this, so I followed him. He stopped at a big tree, a line behind the forest border, so we couldn't be seen by someone at the house, and turned around to face me, his eyes composed but serious. I stopped a metre apart form him and waited for him to start.

"You don't know why I want to talk to you," he said after a minute – it wasn't a question.

"Umm… no, not really," I admitted. He didn't continue so I tried to guess. "Is it about Janette?"

He shook his head. "No, if it'd about my sister I'd talk to her directly."

"Sure," I nodded. Julien might be a quiet person but he was just as direct as Chantal was. "So, what is it you want to discuss with me?"

He sighed. "You know me, Chloe. I'm not a person who likes to beat around the bush, so I'll say it straight out."

I swallowed quietly. Why was I getting nervous? "It's about you, Chloe," he said –like he had informed me– straight out. "What's wrong with you? You've acting strange for about a whole month."

I bit my lip, my fingers started to fidget around without control. "I'm acting strange?"

He frowned. "Hmm… no, sorry, my mistake. Strange was the wrong word. – Weird, that fits better."

My fingers fought against each other that I feared that they would knot. I bit my lip harder. Had I done something wrong? Was this the reason why Janette had acted so strange? Had the others asked Julien to speak to me?

"The others don't know, I suppose," he said as if he had read my thoughts. "At least they haven't said anything about you since they're all caught up with Janette and Antoine." –he shook his head like adults did when their children had done or said something ridiculous– "No, I doubt that they had noticed anything, which doesn't mean that there wouldn't be something wrong with you."

I had bitten my lip so hard that I hadn't noticed my lip bleeding until a salty taste spread across my tongue.

"I don't want to hear any explanations from you, Chloe," he stopped me before I could even think about thinking about an explanation. "I'm not a doctor or scientist or whoever works with human problems. I just want to inform you so you can think about it on your own, maybe you'll be able to clear everything after thinking about it properly. You can also talk with your Mom or Grandma about it, maybe they had notice it too, but honestly, I guess not."

He shrugged, then he turned to leave. He put a hand on my shoulder comradely. "Think about it a little," he repeated, his voice gentle. "You're a smart girl." –he chuckled– "Slow – but smart. You'll solve it in time."

Then with a last pat, he went home.

A few hours later I was sitting on my bed in my dark room, thinking about Julien's words as intensely as I was capable of.

_What the heck had he meant?_

Something was wrong with me, he had said. –But _what_?

I was acting weird, he had told me. –But _how_ and especially _why_?

I surrendered with a groan, resting my forehead against my knees and pressing my eyes shut. My friends were right – I really was slow…

"Hey, why the long face? Is something wrong?"

My eyes flashed open and my head snapped up so fast that I got a little dizzy. My mouth dropped open and I felt my heart skip a beat. How did you breathe again?

His movements where slow and cautious, as if he was thinking about each single step he took. Finally he reached me and sat down on the edge of my bed, keeping a little more than an arm length between us.

"Chloe, you have to breathe," he reminded me, his golden eyes glowing in the darkness.

It took me all concentration I had to follow his wise advice. I breathed, inhaling his alluring sweet scent.

* * *

_woa..... it's already chap.20!! - "How did time fly pass so fast?"! XDD_

_I'm sorry that it took so~ long to update ^^ I had a lot to do (I know it seems that I always have a lot to do XD) besides... I got a brace this wednesday T.T awwwwwwww...... my teeth!!! XP -but writing is a nice distraction although the pain wanders from my teeth to my hand and becomes 'bout 10 times bigger than before........ XDD_

_oh.... by the way.... I'm writing on a chap for "Another point of view" - it's soo~~ fun!! XDD *love Jacob!!* XDDD_

_hmm.... and Sylvia and I should continue with "OlympicGames in OlympicMountains" too....._

_uuuuhhhhhh............. so many things to do........... *help!!!!!* XP_

_but I / We can do it!! ^^_

_**-please review!!! ^^**_

_-Mulan-_


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter13 –****Heaven and Hell–**

"Adrian?" I managed to gasp after taking five deep drafts of air.

"Happy Birthday," he simply congratulated, smiling the wonderful soft smile that I loved so much.

"You… know?" I stammered.

"Of course I do," he answered. "Today ten years ago we met the first time."

I blushed. "You… still remember?"

He lifted a hand, his cool fingers stroking my cheek as if it was made of thin glass. "I could never forget the day when my eyes met your beautiful jade green ones the first time."

I blushed even stronger and leaned in his palm to cool down the heat. "Thank you." –It sounded like a sigh– "This is the best present I can imagine."

He chuckled. "Well, that's good, I guess, because I couldn't get you anything else. I'm sorry."

I shook my head, snuggling in his cool marble hand. "There's really no reason for you to apologize. I'm so happy that you came… I couldn't make it to the meadow today. You must have been waiting for me. I'm so sorry."

"Now you're apologizing for nothing." He chuckled and then sighed long and heavy. "We are a lost case, aren't we?"

"Hmm…" I just sighed and closed my eyes, focusing on this heavenly touch.

"Actually I wanted to get you a clover-bouquet but there aren't any here," he said, a slight edge of frustration in his velvet voice.

I blinked my eyes open. "Clover? What's that?"

He chuckled again – I had never seen him so carefree and happy before. "See, that's what I mean. You've got _everything_ here but no clover."

"Why are you so obsessed with this clover-thing?" I wondered, raising an eyebrow.

"Because it reminds me on you," he explained with a smile. "You smell like clover."

I blinked in confusion. "I… smell like this clover?"

He nodded yes. "And your eyes" –he pulled a strand of hair back that had fallen in my eyes– "The green of your eyes is beautiful. It looks so natural. Like _clover_."

I felt blood shoot up in my head again. Had he really just call me "_beautiful_"? I looked down at my knees ashamed.

"Don't hide your eyes," he ordered softly, lifting my chin with his free hand. "Don't hide your face. You are so…" –he paused, lost at words– "gorgeous," he finally decided but there was still something on his face that showed his discontentment.

My face grew hotter and hotter. I looked down again though it was much harder than before because he was still holding my chin. "I-I'm not…" I objected in a stammer.

"No," he agreed to my surprise. I looked up at him. His pale skin shined in the darkness like snow, his wonderful eyes glowing like liquid gold. If someone was gorgeous here then it was him.

"No," he repeated in a whisper, his voice suddenly hoarse and rough. His perfect face inched nearer towards mine. I forgot how to breathe again. "No… you're not _gorgeous_. You are much… much more…"

Later I knew that I was still alive. But the moment when his cool lips touched mine I believed that I had died and gone to heaven. His lips were so hard and smooth like ice but also so sweet and delicious like honey. I wished to never stop, to always have him holding me tightly in his arms and kissing me.

"Much, much more," he whispered in the brief moment when we broke apart to gasp for air.

I wrapped my arms around his neck when one of his hands combed through my hair while the other traveled alongside my back down to my waist, my hip. He moaned when I brushed his refreshing cool lips with the tip of my tongue. It was amazing how I affected him and I decided that I liked it.

He pulled back and I used the opportunity to fill my lungs with oxygen. But instead of take a breath himself, his lips wandered down to kiss a trace from the little sensitive part of skin at my ear down to my neck where he hit on the frills collar of my night grown.

He growled frustrated and with one fluent movement the upper buttons of my night grown were open. I shuddered with pleasure when I felt his ice-cold hands on my overheated skin without the nasty barrier of fabric. He covered the new exposed skin with thousands of kisses, the places where his lips had been burned with desire. Without me order them to, my hands started to work on the buttons of his shirt, opening one by one and soon the bothersome piece of fabric fell on the floor with a dull sound. I sighed at how perfect his body was built. I laid my forehead against his cool marble chest while my eyes followed my fingers which seemed to have developed an independent will themselves, drawing random lines on his pale while skin.

A little part in me –the responsible part– reminded me on what Mom and Granny had taught me; that marriage came before this; that only undignified women did this; that her virginity was the most precious property a girl had.

But I didn't listen to this tiny part of mine. I didn't care whether this was right or wrong. –It _felt_ right.

He cupped my cheeks with his beautiful hands, pulling me back to his lips. Carefully he laid me on my bed, his sweet lips never leaving mine. With a groan, that showed nothing but endless passion, and a fast fluent motion, my white night grown landed on the floor. His golden eyes were dark with desire, scanning me from head to feet –examining every single strand of hair intensely–, which gave me the feeling that I was naked although I was still safely covered by a white undergarment.

"Much, much more," he repeated with a soft smile that made my heart melt.

I didn't know where the sudden courage came from but the urge to say it was so great that I couldn't possibly hold it any longer or I would explode. "I love you," I heard myself whisper into the silence.

His eyes widened slightly with surprise but then he smiled, raying warmth and adoration. "I love you, too," he whispered back, his velvet voice filled with honesty and emotions. I felt my heart make a backflip. "My shooting star…"

_Shooting star?_ I wanted to ask but he let me forget the question very quickly when he pressed his lips against mine again. I sighed in pleasure when his cool hand wandered from my hip up to my chest and then along side my arm where it hold my wrist, so I couldn't escape – as if I ever wanted to escape.

My gasps filled the silence when his lips left mine to taste my neck, my shoulders, my chest… I squeaked quietly when I felt his ice-cold tongue on my collarbone.

_I'm dead… I must have died and landed in heaven… This can only be heaven……_

He pressed his chest against mine but still taking care to not put his entire weight on me. My free hand stroked his muscular chest down to his abs and rested on his hand which was holding my waist.

_What is he still waiting for? I want more… more……_

My hip arched up toward him. But he pressed me down with his hand at my wrist again, the other holding my waist. I groaned frustrated with he countered with a deep husky chuckle.

"Adrian," I begged, trying to move upwards again.

But he just silenced me with an indescribable passionate kiss. The grip at my wrists tightened again. His lips went on journey again – they were everywhere! I wanted to wrap my arms around his neck but he stopped me by gripping my wrist harder… and harder…

"_Aw_!" It just had been a very quiet sound which was almost completely covered by our gasps, but –sensitive as his ears were– he heard it.

A slight breeze arose, making my hair dance a little around my face, and he was gone.

"Adrian?" I called carefully and tried to get up by leaning on my right arm. "Ouch." A sudden sharp pain cut through my arm and I fell back on my bed. Carefully I moved my hand. The pain came immediately. I groaned. My wrist was broken.

"Don't move." I sighed in relief when I heard his wonderful velvet voice and then seeing him leaning down towards me. He had put his shirt on again, all buttons back in their holes again. He took my hand in his carefully, his cold skin was better than ice.

Maybe I had a very short memory or the pain of healing was really stronger this time. My breath accelerated and my heart hammered hard against my chest. I screamed.

"Shh… Relax, Chloe," he whispered calmingly. "It will be over soon."

I suppressed another cry and prayed that Mom and Granny were still fast asleep. The pain increased with each second and wouldn't cease. "Make it stop," I whimpered. "Please… make it stop…"

"It will," he promised. I felt his breath washing over my arm – he had laid his forehead against my vein. "I'm so sorry, Chloe. It will stop… I promise… just hold on a little…"

I drowned the scream that was about to escape through my clenched teeth with my good hand. Tears started to stream down my cheeks. This injury was worse than the last time.

The seconds ticked by – each one felt like a little eternity. Adrian whispered reassurances and apologies to me again and again like a gramophone record that had a crake. My whimpers and choked screams sounded like background music.

_What had happened? How have I suddenly landed in hell? I want to go back! I want to fly back to heaven!_

Slowly the pain ebbed away, only leaving a rhythmic pulsation back which too finally faded away…

"Does it still hurt?" Adrian asked; his tone concerned but also somehow distant.

I stretched my fingers and then, when it didn't hurt, I lifted my arm and moved the hand. Nothing – the pain was completely gone, again.

I shook my head no. "Thank you."

He made a sneering sound which caused me to look up. He was sitting on my bed but now it was the furthest place from me. His face was in his hands so I couldn't see his eyes. "Thank you," he echoed tauntingly. "I broke her hand and she says '_Thank_ _you'_."

I got up and when he didn't react I moved closer toward him. "But you healed it," I interjected.

"And hurt you even more," he countered, his face still buried in his palms.

"But you healed it," I repeated firmly.

He winced when I touched his shoulder. I gasped. His skin seemed even paler than usual. Dark shadows laid under his eyes which were now more like a pair of onyx than like topaz. His lips here pressed to a hard line, his jaw solid like granite.

"I have hurt you," he said, slowly, emphasizing each single word so I would get it. "I have broken your wrist. You have screamed in pain. You have cried."

"But you healed it," I insisted. It sounded very weak in comparison to his arguments. I had to think of something else to stop him from blaming himself – quick.

His eyes narrowed and grew darker again, but the last part just might have been my imagination. "Stop it," he commanded. "Don't even think about playing everything down." –I swallowed– "It was my fault. –_Mine_, and no one else's."

"Don't be so egoistic," I joked and giggled, but it sounded hysterical even in my own ears.

Okay, this was definitely not my imagination – his eyes had darkened. I bit my lip, my body started to shake but it wasn't because of the cold. Yeah, he was right – not funny.

He stared at me for a long moment. I stared back, not able to look away, he had captured me with his eyes. I exhaled the breath I had held when his eyes finally released me. –The storm was over.

"I shouldn't have come."

I froze. –The storm was over, but only to clean the place for a hurricane.

"I never should have come," he muttered. He closed his eyes and swallowed. "Never…"

What did he mean by "never"? That he had came tonight? –No, it wasn't just that. "Never" sounded like more. As if he regretted to have ever met me…

"No," I breathed. "Don't…"

He didn't respond.

I shook my head fiercely. "No… you can't… don't…"

He kept frozen like the most perfect sculpture of the entire universe.

I erased the last distance between us, wrapping my arms around his torso, pressing my face against his ice-cold and marble-hard chest. He winced. "No! You mustn't go. You promised – you promised to not leave."

"Did I?" he wondered.

"Yes!" I insisted, though I couldn't remember whether it was true on not. "You have to keep your promise. You have to stay."

"Chloe-"

"No!" I cut him off firmly. "You stay."

He sighed in defeat. "Fine," he surrendered. "But this doesn't change the fact that I'm a heartless monster."

"You're not!"

He ignored it. "Would you put your night grown on, please?" He nudged my back through the soft fabric. "This will make it easier for both of us."

I suddenly remembered that I was just wearing a thin undergarment. I blushed. "Sure." I slipped in the safe white night grown quickly. I caught him staring out of the window when I had finished. I snuggled back up to his chest. "Don't even think about sneaking out," I warned him in a threatening tone.

He sighed. "Yes, Ma'am."

* * *

_o.....m.........g................... O.O -what happened to me??!! ME - the little innocent girl?? XDD_

_well, but I'm happy with this chap ^^ it was difficult to write (without self-experience XDD) now you know what I dream about at night XDD_

_-just kidding - but it WAS difficult to write 'cause it was all describtion - no dialogues! (dialogues are always easier to write than plain, boring descirbtions ;)) so I'm really surprised that I had finished it in only one day!! O.O (sth. is definitely wrong with me! XDD)_

_I hope you liked this chap! ^^_

_**Please review!! ;)**_

_-Mulan-_


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter14 –Not a Bedtime Story–**

We sat together on my bed for a very long moment in silence. But unlike our usual silence, this one didn't feel right. It wasn't the kind of perfect silence that felt as if time had stopped, as if nothing could harm you, as if forever was lying in your two hands…

But this was different – totally different.

His arms around me were like an iron cage. He was clinging to me not holding me. The fact that was not looking at me, but out of the window at the sickle-shaped silver moon, showed the conflict he was fighting inside.

I didn't like the tension on his face; I didn't want him to worry about anything at all – especially not about being together with me.

I lifted a hand, stroking his cold cheek with my warm palm to focus his attention away from his dark thoughts. He leaned in the touch with a long heavy sigh, his eyes fell shut. I waited for him to say something –the depressing silence was killing me– but he remained silent.

"You are so quiet," I stated, not knowing what else to say.

He opened his eyes. "It's late. You should sleep."

"No." I shook my head fiercely, burying my face deeper into his chest. "I'm not tired."

He sighed. "What else do you want to do then?" he asked.

"Tell me a bedtime story," I said after thinking about his question for a few minutes. "Tell me about you and your life."

He laughed; it was a cold humorless laugh, oozing with acid. "You don't want to hear those things, trust me. They are definitely not appropriate for _bedtime stories_."

"Why not?" I wondered, trying to get more information out of him.

He shook his head. "You don't want to know it."

"Try me," I prompted. "I'm not that sensible."

He chuckled and this time it sounded a little amused. "Really?" But then his face became serious and his eyes turned to the wall behind me and I knew that he was only physically present now – mentally he was lost in his memories. "I can't really remember when or where I was born – these things are already many of years ago. Human memories are all very blurry."

He paused; his golden eyes reflected the dim light of the silver moon. I waited. "My memories start with fire. I felt like burning, the pain was everywhere and the end of the torture had been indeterminable. It was pure hell. I was sure that I would die."

My fingers bored into his shirt and I pressed my lips tightly together to not make a noise that would have betrayed me. He had been right – this was no bedtime story.

"It was like a miracle when I finally felt the fire fade away. I had believed that it'd never stop." –a sigh– "When the pain was completely gone I dared to move my fingers and then to open my eyes."

In contrast to his words he closed his eyes. He continued. "The first thing I saw was a grey and dirty stone ceiling. My brain told me that it should be cold but I didn't feel cold, not at all. –I didn't feel anything… Well, not absolutely nothing, there was still something… an aching pain in my throat. The fire wasn't completely put out, later I learned that it would never cease, as long as I exist."

I stroked his soft hair soothingly. I didn't know that he was suffering. I felt my eyes grow watery and blinked the coming tears away. "Are you in pain now?" I asked though I wasn't sure whether I really wanted to know that so exactly.

He shook his head. "No, I'm fine," he assured me, turning his head to kiss my palm. "It hurts more to be separated from you."

I didn't believe him, not this time. He was in pain, I could feel it…

"After some time I heard steps coming toward me," he went on with his story to distract my mind from the sad thought I was having. "A door opened and bright candle light entered the darkness. I remember how it stung in my eyes. I wanted that the person who had come to put out the light, I didn't need it, it was more troublesome than helpful."

So that was how he could have found me that night. His eyes weren't tied to the necessarily of using light to see unlike me.

"A tall man held the candle and my instincts told me that he too didn't need the candle. 'You have awakened,' he said."

I shuddered at the mention of that foreigner and snuggled into the safety of Adrian's chest. Although I knew nothing about him I was sure that I didn't want to meet him.

" 'Who are you?' I asked and he told me that his name was 'Demetri'. I wanted to ask him more questions like where I was and what I was doing there but then he asked whether I was thirsty and the idea of asking anything was gone. The only thought that left was _thirst_."

It was suddenly very quiet in the room and I noticed that I was holding my breath. He waited for me to start inhale and exhale again before he continued.

" 'It's time now,' Demetri told me later," he said. I recognized that he had made a little leap in time but didn't complain. I didn't want to hear how he had allayed his thirst. " 'For what?' I wondered. 'For you to meet our masters,' he explained shortly. He led me through a long hallway. The walls where made out of stone which where covered by thick red satin curtains with golden frames. The red reminded me on the burning in my throat."

I swallowed hard. It was very easy to picture the color of the curtains.

"We reached a giant wooden door that looked very old and antique. Two guards stood at the door, they were as pale as snow just like Demetri. They bowed in front of Demetri and opened the door for us. We entered the room which wasn't a classical room. It was more like a festival hall. There were plenty of pale creatures like Demetri, clothed in different shades of black. They stopped their conversations and turned around to stare at me. I didn't like the way their eyes bored into me. Although they all looked different they all had two points in common. Their skin was pale and their eyes ruby-red. I felt like a helpless prey of a hungry lion, of twenty hungry lions."

My fingers dug deeper and deeper into his shirt. I was becoming more and more nervous while he stayed perfectly calm.

"At the other side of the hall were three throne-like chairs, placed on a podium. Three thrones with three kings sitting on them. They too where pale white and theirs red eyes shined with pride and wisdom, but though these sound like two great qualities, in my eyes they seemed to be soaked with egocentricity. And I was right – they have been sitting there on their thrones for too many centuries." –another thoughtful pause– "Demetri led me through the crowd to the kings. He bowed while I just stood there. They might be kings but not mine. The one in the middle –a tall man with long black hair and paper-white skin– seemed to be hugely amused by my stubborn insubordination. He laughed; it sounded like the way a sadistic child laughs when he was throwing stones at a poor helpless kitten."

Another person I didn't like before I heard his name.

" 'Welcome,' he greeted me with a bright smile that probably was supposed to look friendly. 'Welcome to Volterra, Adrian.' I was surprised that he knew my name and took a step back, switching into defense position. The other people around me were suddenly in front of me, dividing me from their king. 'Peace my dear ones,' he calmed them and they moved away instantly. The _king_ stepped nearer toward me. He offered me a hand. 'My name is Aro. It's a pleasure to meet you, Adrian.' "

I took a deep breath. I had stopped breathing again.

"I wasn't prepared to what happened next. If I had known I definitely wouldn't have taken his hand. The moment his skin touched mine a hurricane of pictures, voices, smells and feelings shot through my head into Aro. How long did it take him to learn every single detail about me? –An hour? A minute? A second? I never found out, but Aro's expression made it perfectly clear that he knew what he had just done and he liked it. 'Marcus, Caius, our new friend thinks we are egotistic,' he announced with laughter. But the other two _kings_ didn't seem to find this as funny as their brother did. One of them –Demetri later told that his name was Caius– even seemed to be angry and offended, while the third one –Marcus– didn't even seem to have heard the words. Later I found out that he was always like that – cold and emotionless."

"How can you be emotionless?" I wanted to know, interrupting his story.

"I don't know," he replied honestly. "But I heard rumors about a great stroke of fate that changed Marcus into the person he is now."

I nodded. I wondered what had happened with him to be totally _emotionless_. Although I was a little afraid of this Marcus I felt compassion for him. No one had deserved to experience a fateful event like he had probably done.

"They told me what I was now and offered me to stay with them. I had no idea where else to go so I agreed. Later I found out the reason for their wish. I had a special ability – a gift that nobody else had. For them I was another step to grow higher and more powerful."

"I told you, you are unique," I said, managing a smile.

He chuckled. "Sure, but uniqueness is a sword with two blades." He paused, staring holes into my wall, then he continued. "I stayed with the Volturi –that's how they called themselves– for more than a hundred years. With my gift they never had problems with planning wars again. Why should you worry about injuries if your army was built of more than fifty immortals and a guy who could heal all kinds of bone fractures?"

I tried to picture Adrian in a pitch-black cape, his eyes not golden but blood-red with hunger and violence. I was more than just glad when my fantasy failed.

"It was about seventy hundred when I met the strange vampire from Great Britain. His name was Carlisle Cullen and although Demetri –who had become a close friend to me in the mean time– warned me to keep distance between me and Carlisle, I found a good and loyal companion in him very quickly. Carlisle offered me a way out of the hell my existence had become. He showed me that I didn't have to be the monster I despised so much, that I could be someone else than the Volturi-slave I had become without noticing, that I could be free, that I could be human…"

His voice was suddenly warm and had an edge of reverence when he had phrased Carlisle Cullen's name. I felt that this Carlisle was a person you could not just respect but also like very much. I relaxed a little, feeling that the nightmare was turning into a happy-ending.

"At the beginning I thought he was nuts," he laughed at the memory. "I thought he had lost his mind. How could monsters like us still be _human_? But he didn't just prove me the truth of his words but also showed me the way to go to be like him. It was a very hard way but not impossible to go. I tried a lot and failed even more often. Carlisle never gave up on me. Although I was actually older than him, he was much like a father for me. Unfortunately I was the only one he could persuade of his theories. Demetri called me insane to be willing to hang around with Carlisle so often and long. And then, when Carlisle decided to take off for the New World I packed the few things I had and followed him."

"And those Volturi-people allowed you to leave?" I questioned, astonished. They seemed to be too fond of Adrian to simply let him go without to put on a fight.

He shook his head, chuckling. "No, not really. Aro was very surprised and disappointed when I announced my departure and Caius called Carlisle a thief for kidnapping me to the States."

"Why was Aro disappointed?" I demanded. Did he actually believe that the Volturi was such a great kingdom?

"Because of Chelsea," Adrian explained. "She is another member of the Volturi-guard like I was. She had a gift too, but it was totally different form mine. Her ability was to… arrange other people's feelings towards each other as she pleased, or like Aro pleased. With other words, Chelsea kept us together as a united group. It was officially impossible to break out of her spell."

I nodded, understanding. "So how did you manage to recall her ban?"

"I don't know." He shrugged. "Maybe it was the huge curiosity I held for the New World. Maybe it was my ambition to become a better person. Maybe it was you who had been calling for me… who knows?"

I blushed at his last words. _Impossible_, I told myself. _I hadn't been even born then…_

He watched my cheeks change color from pink to red and back to pink with an amused and curious expression. Then he continued. "Carlisle and I stayed together for about two decades before he started to study medicine in practice and I decided that it'd be easier for both of us to separate for that sake."

"Why?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Carlisle was hugely fond of becoming a doctor who also does surgeries on living humans."

Realization dawned on me. Surgeries meant blood. "Oh…"

He nodded. "Yes. So I left to discover the rest of the country while he stayed in the cities to help his suffering patients. I had traveled for about another set of decades, practicing my self-control. I've to admit that I wasn't very successful. I had slipped a lot of times."

The idea of Adrian hovering above a helpless –probably even screaming– human, sent shivers down my spine. So I was more than hugely surprised when a warm smile appeared on his lips.

"I was on my way to Carlisle, I had heard that he was in Baltimore at that time and I planned on visiting my old friend. I passed the Appalachian Mountains. It was the second time so I was very fast, only stopping for hunt. The sweet scent of clover hit me like a bolt from the blue – I was totally unprepared."

I smiled back, my head finally getting what he was talking about. "Thank you for saving me," I whispered.

"Until today I don't know where I got the strength to resist your blood," he told me and I was surprised that I didn't even feel uncomfortable when he called me his lunch. He didn't seem to notice it too; otherwise his smile wouldn't have stayed. "I just saw into your eyes and I felt that something inside me was changing."

It was silent around us for a long moment. Our thoughts both back at the day when we first met.

"After that," he continued in almost a whisper. "I ran the entire way to Baltimore to meet Carlisle. I wanted him to help me train my self-control. For the first time of about five hundred years I felt hope again. Because I had seen a shooting star and I knew that it would grant my wish… and I swore that I would never let that star fall form sky."

I blushed, finally understanding why he had called me "_shooting star_" before. But while I allowed sleep take over me, I also felt a little part in me worrying. It was worrying about his last words.

_And I swore that I would never let that star fall form sky…_

* * *

_woa... that was kinda fast... well if you know that I wrote this one in about 2-3 hours! I really should force myself to write more frequently... I'd finish this entire story in no time then! XDD_

_ok... here're some... well... "bad" news... I'll be **on vacation for the entire August** so you probably won't hear anything from me for an entire month... sry! -Don't cry! XDD I still will continue writing during that time - I just won't be able to update - I promise to update as soon as I'm back home! ;)_

_cya 'til then! ^^ and please **review**!_

_-Mulan-_

_PS. I've put a picture of Chloe and Adrian on my galary - actually it's very old already... I jsut always forgot to upload it... ^^ it'd be nice if you have a look at it and tell me whether you like it or not ;) -thx!_


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 –Good Turns, Bad Turns–**

The following three days were pretty normal. –Or at least I thought they were normal at that time.

I went to school in the morning, sitting in the quiet classroom and counting the seconds until I was free to go to the meadow and snuggle back into Adrian's chest again.

He hadn't kissed me or had done anything else that came close to that since my birthday. It was quiet the opposite. He was more cautious and decent than before if that was even possible. However, a girl may dream…

I sighed, watching the beautiful green trees through the window. Although it was a little cloudy today, the dark forest seemed as shiny and inviting as always. Classes were dragging on and on. French, English, History, Algebra, Social Studies – everything mixed to a blur of boredom and senselessness.

'Adrian,' I prayed. 'Please, come and save me from this.'

_The classroom door flew open and a tall man burst into the silent room without to knock. His inhuman beautiful pale face illuminated the whole room. His eyes, which's color were the wonderful shade of __melted gold, flew through the rows, searching. My heart skipped a beat when they stopped on my face._

_"Chloe," he said, it sounded like a sigh of relief. A literally breathtaking smile appeared on his wonderful smooth lips._

_I was too shocked to smile back, not to mention to move or speak._

_He didn't wait for me to answer, either. In the time for a blink, he took a few long strikes, arriving at my side. With an impossibly fresh and confident grin, he bended down, lifting me on his arms as if I was made out of feathers._

_"Wh- what ar-" I finally found my voice and begun to stammer a question. But he didn't let me finish. He silenced me very effectively with an irresistible passionate kiss._

_Okay, he got me there. If he asked me, I would never protest against this kind of distraction._

_We broke apart – much too soon for my taste. I was gasping for air and my cheeks felt like been set on fire._

_"Rescuing my imprisoned princess of course," he explained then. And with these words he carried me out of the building –bridal-style–, leaving a bunch of shocked students and teachers back, taking off into the warm sunset…_

I suppressed a hysterical giggle, my cheeks felt as hot as an oven. _Mon Dieu_, dreaming those kind of things at bright daylight – it was still _hours_ to sunset! What the heck had happened to the little innocent me?

"_Mademoiselle _de Trèfle!"

My head snapped up, finding an angry _Mademoiselle_ Larousse at my table.

"_Ah, she woke up!_" my French teacher announced with faked enthusiasm. She rolled her bright green eyes, which matched her reddish locks in a unique way. The other kids laughed and giggled as reaction, Chantal raised an eyebrow curiously.

"_Mademoiselle _de Trèfle," _Mademoiselle_ Larousse continued scolding me. "_Ça c'est le cours français_.This is the French class. I can't remember to have ever agreed to teach a 'Dreaming class'."

"_Excusez-moi__, Mademoiselle_," I apologized sheepishly. "_It won't happen again_."

She accepted it with a short nod. "_Lit_," she commanded in a tone that reminded me on an admiral. "_Page 26, ligne 15_."

"_Oui__, Mademoiselle_." I got up and started reading the text as the teacher had ordered to. The hours continued to drag on.

Finally, when I had already believed that the torture would never end, the liberating sound of the bell declared class as finished for today.

I jumped up to my feet throwing books and pens heedlessly into my bag and reached the door first. –Or at least I had assumed that I would be the first one.

"Chloe," Julien stopped me at the door, his face serious. "We need to talk."

Although my feet were longing for running into the forest this instant, my brain managed to order them to follow Julien to the trees behind our school. From the corner of my eyes, I saw Chantal watching us curiously but she didn't come to ask. Instead she left the school ground with Claudine and Fabienne, Dominique and Louis on their heels. Janette and Antoine were nowhere to be found.

Like the other day, he stopped abruptly without a warning, causing me almost to bump into him. He turned around, facing me. I had expected him to look like three days ago –composed and serious–, so I paused when I noticed the softness in his eyes, which was very untypical for my all so silent and stern old friend. His face was apologetic and embarrassed. Then there was something more. – He looked _tired_ though there were no shadows under his eyes or any other kind of symbols, which usually showed the tiredness of a person. He didn't seem to be physically tired but _emotionally_, as if he had thought about a difficult exercise for too long.

"I'm sorry, Chloe," he started without a prologue or any other explanations.

I blinked in irritation. "Huh?"

"You don't know what I'm talking about?" It sounded more like a conclusion than a question, intermixed with a slight hint of amusement in it.

I blushed. "Erm… to be honest – no…"

He chuckled, shaking his head in disbelief. He muttered something between his snickers that sounded very much like "Guess should have known that". I kept standing there in front of him, absolutely clueless. "Do you remember what I told you three days ago?" he helped me.

_"So, what is it you want to discuss with me?"_

_"You know me, Chloe. I'm not a person who likes to beat around the bush, so I'll say it straight out. – It's about you, Chloe. What's wrong with you? You've been acting strange for about a whole month."_

_"I'm acting strange?"_

_"Hmm… no, sorry, my mistake. Strange was the wrong word. – Weird, that fits better."_

I bit my lip. "Am I still acting weird?" I asked carefully. I hadn't thought a single time about it after that night although I had promised him to do that.

He seemed to have read my thoughts. He sighed but his tone was gentle. "Chloe, I wasn't forcing you to do something when I talked to you on your birthday. Thinking about yourself isn't homework you've to finish next Monday. It's a routine task, everyone should do once a while. So there's no need for you to feel bad if you've forgotten to do so yesterday or the day before."

I nodded, my mouth hung open in awe. His words sounded so right and… _wise_. Those words could have come from my grandmother. I had known Julien since I could think back but I had never noticed what kind of great and intelligent person was hiding behind that silent and serious façade. It felt like as if I could touch the love and solicitousness he held for his friends and family by just lifting my hand.

"Actually, as I'd mentioned before, I'm the one who should apologize," he said to my surprise.

"What? No… why?" I stammered, been totally caught off guard.

"Because I was very mean to you that day," he explained with an excusatory face. "It was incorrect and rude of me to censure your changes as wrong and bad." –he sighed, full with regret and I remembered Chantal and the others walking home; without Antoine and Janette– "I guess there had been so many unpredicted changes in the last time that I'd simply forgotten that there also could be good turns in life." He paused, looking at me with honest and caring eyes. "I don't know how, don't know why – and I won't ask for any explanations either. What I can see is that the product of this turn is your happiness. And as long as you're happy everything is fine."

"J-Julien…" I gasped, feeling my eyes begin to water with emotions. "Th-thank you."

He laughed. I couldn't remember him to have ever laughed very much, but I would try to make him laugh more often in the future – he looked and sounded so happy when he did so. "Hey, don't make me blush – I'm not the one who made you happy, am I? Thank the one who helped you to become so happy."

I nodded eagerly. "Yes, I will."

* * *

_hey guys - I'm back!! ^^ *party!!* and I kept my promise - I've finished the 15. and 16. chap during my absence *proud* XDD_

_but unfortunately... the Upload here doesn't work correctly.... -.- I don't don't know why... but when I want to upload it just says that there's an error T.T HELP ME!!! . __I uploaded this chap by removing the content of the last uploaded chap......_

_could you tell me what's wrong here?? or if you don't know either - can you tell me who to ask?? -thx!!_

_I'll upload the next chap when I know what's wrong.... ;)_

_-Mulan-_


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16 –****He won't–**

I walked into the meadow, almost dancing with anticipation.

He wasn't there but that was nothing special. He used to show up a minute or two later.

I went to the fallen tree-trunk –our waiting-place–, plucking a Black-eyed Susan on my way. Remembering my indecent –but nonetheless wonderful– day-dream in French I started to pluck one petal after the other.

"He will… he will not… he will… he will not…" I sang to myself, smiling and pouting at the right moment. The slender long yellow petals slid to the ground like snow in winter or leaves in fall, disappearing into the high grass.

"He will not…he will… he will not… he will… he-" I froze. Disappointment washed over me like a big wave as I stared down at the last guilty petal. I pouted. This was not fair.

"So… what is it that I won't do?"

My head snapped up. He was just one or two meters apart from me. "A-Adrian.," I gasped. "I-I didn't hear you…"

He didn't comment on that – it was kind of a natural fact that I couldn't hear him… if he didn't want me to. He looked down at the hackly flower in my hands, raising an eyebrow curiously.

I dropped the flower inconspicuously. At least I attempted to do it as inconspicuously as possible – with his inhuman sharp eyes, he probably could even see the stars at daytime, I guessed. I felt my face heat up at once. I couldn't possibly tell him that I had asked a flower whether he would kiss me today or not. "Nothing," I lied instead.

Again, he didn't comment. A bad feeling began to spread inside me. –He had never slipped a chance to tease me…

'Yeah, right! You're probably just worrying about nothing again, Chloe,' I told myself, shaking all anxieties away.

"How was your day?" I asked, changing the subject.

He shrugged.

I waited, waiting for him to ask me back and join me on the tree trunk as he always did. But he didn't move, neither did he speak a single word.

The bad feeling inside me grew bigger and bigger with each passing second, each one filled with depressing silence.

I got up; my legs were shaking. "Adrian?" I prompted carefully. "I-is everything alright?"

He led me wait an endless moment for a response. My nerves were all on alert. "Do you want me tell you the truth?"

I swallowed though my mouth was completely dry with tension and nodded, my neck felt somehow stiff.

He looked at me, his golden eyes hard and cold, they scared me. "No" –I squirmed at the coldness in his voice– "Nothing is alright."

I bit my lip, trying desperately to come up with the reason for his sudden bad mood, but couldn't remember anything. But there _must _be something – something that I had done wrong to make him this upset. "I-I'm sorry," I apologized beforehand, figuring that this would be the best to do in this situation.

"What are you apologizing for?" he inquired, raising an eyebrow. But his expression didn't show the slightest hint of amusement like usual, he looked disapprovingly and so did his question sound.

My head fell to the ground, heavy with guilt and because his cold face scared me as nothing else had ever done. "For upsetting you," I admitted.

He chuckled, it was short and cold, like little sharp pieces of ice falling, stabbing your skin like needles. "Don't worry. I'm not upset because of you. It's not your fault that a little plain human girl can't hold my interest anymore."

My head snapped up, staring at his beautiful face in disbelief. –No, he hadn't just said that, had he? "Wh-what do you… mean?" I checked carefully, my voice trembling with fear.

"I mean what I said," he answered in a sneering tone and suddenly I wasn't sure whether I really wanted to hear the answer or not – or if I was ready for it at all. "I've been right from the very beginning. Humans and my kind can't coexist together in that way – it's against nature. A fleeting creature like you can never keep an endless being like me entertained for long. So don't feel bad about it, you really are innocent in this case. It's rather the opposite. You did a pretty good job, Chloe."

I stood there, not able to breath, not able to move, not able to say a single word.

_This is not real_, I kept chanting to myself silently like a healing spell. _This is just one of those horrible nightmares._

His eyes traveled away from mine, approaching the surrounding –my holy meadow– with an annoyed expression. He sighed. "Not just you. This whole place is getting on my nerves."

_This is not real… not real…_

"I already know the shape of every single leave and blade of grass in this little forest by heart. It really is time for me to go and discover new places. It can't be healthy for someone like me to stay at a place for too long," he chuckled.

_Not real… not real – wake up, Chloe… I have to wake up!_

"Hmm… where should I go next?" he wondered, looking up the sky with dreamy eyes, like a prisoner who was about to be set free after many of years. "I had never been in Asia – maybe I could go there? Africa sounds good, too – but what should I do there during daytime? Well, at least it's clear that I won't go to a place that's the slightest bit common to here anymore." He laughed; it was cold – so cold…

_No… not real… __wake up… please!_

His laughter hurt my ears, so did his cruel words. But what hurt the most were these golden eyes of his –the eyes that I loved so much–, they were as hard as granite and underlined the things he had just said, making them real.

_No, don't… not real… _not_ real… he would never…_

'Why wouldn't he?' a sly voice in my head said. 'He's not bond to you. What do you have to keep him? How can you even believe that you could possibly keep him? Look at you – you are nothing compared to him.'

_No… don't… no…not real… that's not right… this here is not real… just a dream… just a bad dream…_

"No," I finally heard myself whisper, cutting him off at making further itineraries. "Don't."

"Don't what?" he asked, his tone still cold and hard.

"Don't… leave me..." My voice broke at the end.

He laughed that cold knife sharp laughter again. I winced, as if the sound had cut me physically, but in reality, it cut me even deeper and harder. "And why should I?"

I bit my lip. The sly voice inside my head continued to speak. I tried to block it as good as I could, but I could feel how my hands were shaking, how the tears were building. "I love you," I breathed. 'What a lame excuse,' the sly voice commented. I heard myself start sobbing.

Suddenly his eyes were back to normal, soft and warm like liquid gold, like the way I loved them so much, and a sad and painful shadow appeared on his face. But that must have been my imagination because the next second his face was hard and cold like ice again.

_Not real… not real… no!_

"And this little excuse of a reason is supposed to keep me here?" he countered. I felt my legs shake and my head spinning. "Let me make it absolutely clear for you, so even a plain little human like you can understand." He took a step toward me, covering together with the thick rain clouds the last rays of sun. His following words hit me like sharp knives; all mercilessly spear my heart… my soul.

"I."

_No… don't… please! _

"Do."

_Stop! Please, I'm begging you! Please! _

"Not."

_This is not real… not real!_

"Love."

_Don't want this… I don't want this, please! It hurts… it hurts!!_

"You."

My knees gave in, and finally everything around me went dark. I thought I had heard him whisper "Farewell" to me. But that's impossible. Nothing could have possibly broken through the darkness around me – a darkness even darker as the starless night sky.

The Black-eyed Susan had been right - he won't... _never_.

* * *

_hey! the upload is working again!! ^o^ *party* (I kind of party a lot.... XDD)_

_ok.... das was a dark~~ chap.... the darkest in the whole story I think.... or not?? ^^ *don't-plan-just-do-person* ;)_

_please **review**!! ^^ (the last chap didn't got any reviews... *pout* - where are you guys??) -thx! ^^_

_-Mulan-_

_PS. **ATTENTION - VERY IMPORTANT!! **I've kind of a plan what's gonna happen in the next chap (uh~~~ she was a plan!! XDD) but I don't know how to write it.... in **who's point of view **I should write it.... actually I've planned to write the whole story from Chloe's point of view but Chloe's gonna be kind of.... **absence** in the next chap.... ^^ **what d'you think?? ^^ -thx!**_


	18. Chapter 17

_I'd finally decided to write this chap as a fairytale - hope you'll enjoy it ^^_

_oh... and I hope you'll find out who is who ^^ (explanations at the end of the story in A/N ;) )_

* * *

**Chapter17 –A Fairytale–**

_Once upon a time__…_

…there was a little _girl_ who lived in a little village at the border of a great mountain. Her life was filled with warmth and light, with friends and family. The _girl_ loved her friends and family and so they loved her back. Because this _girl_ wasn't just beautiful from the outside but she also owned a heart that shined like the stars at night, raying purity and sincerity.

Her life was like a written fairytale and she was the wonderful princess who would live with her prince happily ever after. At least, that is what everyone would assume, isn't it?

But who was her prince?

The _cat_ –a very clever and sprightly person– had been the _girl_'s best friend since always. The _cat_ knew that the _herdsman_ from the village was deeply in love with the _girl_ sine the first time he had seen her. The _herdsman_ was a kind and helpful boy, a wonderful match for the little innocent _girl_ who would probably care for her an entire life. However, because of the simplicity of the _girl_ and the _herdsman_'s shyness, she never learned the truth about his feelings. The _cat_ told her again and again, but the _girl_ just shook it off with a blush and smile every time. For her, the _herdsman_ was only a very close friend. She loved him, yes, but not the way he loved her – she loved him like a sister loved her precious brother.

Beside this boundary, there was also the _fairy_.

The _fairy_, too, was a very good friend of the _girl's_. And although no one –even the _herdsman_ himself hadn't noticed it– the _fairy_ was in love with him for a very long time. His honesty and helpfulness had captured her little fairy heart. The only one who had recognized it, who had noticed the way the _fairy_ looked at the _herdsman_, was the _girl_. But nobody believed her, even the _owl_ –the _fairy's_ older brother – thought, that it was impossible. A _fairy_ and a _herdsman_… how was this supposed to work out?

And so everyone was caught off guard when the _fairy_ confessed the _herdsman_ her love. She abandoned the magic she was born with and turned into a sheep to live together with him. To say that the _herdsman_ was surprised about the _fairy's_ decision would be an understatement. But however, although he still loved the _girl_, he didn't reject the _fairy_ who was a sheep now. The strength and purity of her feelings toward him touched him deeply. He couldn't send her away – it would have been heartless.

The _cat_ was angry. –Angry about the soft-hearted _herdsman_, about the blindness of the _girl_, about the whole situation. For her the _herdsman_ and the _girl_ had to be together – they kind of made for each other…

However, while the _cat_ cursed and sulked all day and night, the _owl_ watched the scene from an upper branch with clear observant eyes. And so he was the only one who noticed the little changes the little _girl_ was doing.

She seemed to be deep in thoughts more often and talked less than before, too. But the _owl_ also saw that the _girl_ smiled more that before. So he didn't ask her for any explanations for her weird behavior, because as long as she was happy, the _owl_ would be fine with it.

Of course these changes of the little _girl's_ were because of the fact that she had finally met her Prince Charming. And it came even better than she could have ever imagined. Her prince happened to be a gorgeous _angel_.

Everyday at nightfall, when the last sunrays hit the mountains at the horizon, the _girl_ and the _angel_ met at a little meadow in the forest at which's border the _girl's_ village was located. The _angel_ was handsome and strong, thoughtful and gentle. But there was also something about him on which the _girl_ couldn't quiet put a finger on. There was kind of a mysterious aura, a mist of secrets that surrounded him. But this, too, was one of the many reasons why the little _girl_ loved the _angel_ so much.

And the wonderful _angel_ loved the little _girl_ back and they lived happily ever after… that is how fairytales are supposed to end right? But not in this story…

One day, when the little _girl_ went to the meadow to meet her _angel_ like she did everyday, the _angel_ didn't came. Instead a _demon_ who looked just the same as the _angel_ did arrived at the meadow and ripped the beautiful little _girl_'s heart into pieces. He told her that he –the _angel_– wouldn't love her anymore… that he had never really loved her at all.

And the pure little _girl_'s heart fell into thousands of tiny pieces. She cried for hours and days – but the tears couldn't wash the pain away… She tried to close her eyes and sleep – but horrible nightmares made her startle from her own screams again and again…

Then, finally, she found a way to forget the pain. –She made herself forget everything. She forgot how to speak, how to see, how to hear and –and this was her actual goal– she forgot how to feel.

Because… if you can't feel you can't suffer, either. The darkness protected her, but not for free. She had to pay a very huge price for this – happiness. But that was meaningless now… because the _angel_ had already taken all light and warmth that had once filled the little _girl's_ life with him – gone, forever…

And so the seconds ticked by, while the poor little _girl_ sat on her bed, staring out of her room's only window with empty eyes. Soon the seconds became minutes which then cumulated to hours and days, weeks and months… And the little _girl_ still kept sitting on her bed, not speaking, not seeing, not hearing, not feeling.

The _cat_, the _owl_, the _herdsman_, the _fairy_ and all the other people who loved her, were hugely worried about the little _girl_. They felt absolutely helpless because they couldn't do anything but watch her sink deeper and deeper into the emptiness. But how should they help her if they didn't even know why she was acting like that? –Yes, the little _girl_ hadn't told anybody about her _angel_, he was her little secret, her little treasure that she didn't want to share with anyone else.

And so time fell by, the emerald-green leaves changed to yellow and red and slid quietly crinkly to the ground every time when a cool autumn breeze arose. It was a beautiful view, as if it was raining topaz and rubies, accompanied by the wonderful song of mother nature – but the little didn't register this, either.

So she kept existing like that – not speaking, not seeing, not hearing, not feeling, not living. No happy ever after, no "_they lived happily together forever_"… right?

Of course not – because then this wouldn't have been a fairytale.

* * *

_ok, I know this was a little.... strange... ^^ I felt kind of weird too when I'd written this... ^^_

_so~~~ have you found out who is who?? ^^ (if not: **Chloe=girl, Chantal=cat, Antoine=herdsman, Janette=fairy, Julien=owl, Adrian=angel/demon**)_

_Chloe, Chantal, Julien and Adrian were easy to "nickname" ^^ -Chloe the innocent little girl, Chantal the fresh clever cat, Julien the wise silent owl and Adrian... well that one is kind of clear ;)_

_Antoine and Janette were difficult to nickname.... I' sat at my desk, rocking forth and back, chanting "Name... name... name...." for at least an hour! XD_

_I decided on "herdsman" for Antoine because I wanted him to be symbolized as honest and helpful... and "herdsman" kind of fit... at least in my interpretations herdsman are usually honest and helpful XD - and Janette should be something special.... something outstanding ^^ so: "fairy" ;)_

_**I hope you liked it - please review!! ^o^**_

_-Mulan-_


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter18 –Darkness****–**

Dark.

Everything was dark.

Like always.

Wonderful…

The darkness didn't bother me. To be honest, I liked it, liked it very much. The darkness was something great. It covered me up like a mother covered her little baby up before it fell to sleep. It sang to me to protect me from the scary nightmares that haunted me. It held me like a good friend, stopped me freezing, kept me together in one piece.

And it let me forget – forget everything beyond the ink black ocean, at the end of the wonderful black tunnel.

If there was anything at all…

I was sitting on the sea, my feet floating a few inches above the ink black water which was perfectly motionless at the moment. Sometimes, when I wished to, the water made waves and dance with me in a quick or a slow pace – that depended on my mood. The ocean was like a trained pet, always doing what I told him to do, the most trustworthy companion one could ever ask for.

But now, at the moment, I was too tired to dance or to play or to do anything else. I pulled my legs up to my chin, my arms enclosing them automatically. There was a high quiet sound, like jingling glass, and small circular waves started to form under me, growing bigger and bigger, disappearing into the distance. Soundlessly, a thin wall of black water reached up to enclose me like a soap bubble.

Another jingling tone sounded, inserting the sweetest and most beautiful melody in this world –in my world–, a mermaid's song, composed by the winds that flew through a bright summer tree.

I fought my eyes open to hear as much from the wonderful song as possible, but like always the intoxicating sweet chimes didn't miss their effect. With my cheeks rested on my knees, my eyes slowly fell shut and I fell asleep.

My dreams were always the total opposite to the time while I was awake.

It was loud and colorful. I was running through a big crowd of people who were all talking at once. Some of their faces seemed familiar to me – a girl with chestnut brown eyes and wavy blond hair; a boy with messy dark-blond hair and a gentle face; a girl with sapphire blue eyes and long smooth ginger hair; an old lady with a kind but also concerned wrinkly face;…

But I couldn't remember who they were and where I had ever met them before. One blink and their faces had already flew past me – too fast to memorize; too fast to understand what they were trying to tell me.

I ran and ran without to ever feel exhausted or tired. I didn't even know why I was running at all. There was always that voice inside me, telling me to go on and on, to never stop whatever should happen. _"You have to make it! You have it reach it before nightfall!"_ But it never informed me where I was heading to and why.

_Nightfall_ – what was that? I couldn't remember but somehow, I was sure that it was something beautiful.

The only clue I could make out was something that looked like an emerald green wall at the horizon, drawing my body nearer and nearer in it in a mystical way.

However, no matter how fast I ran or how desperately my arms reached out to catch it, I never arrived. And the next time I fell asleep the race would start from the beginning again…

But this time I was closer to the goal than I had ever been before. I didn't understand why but somehow I _knew_ that I was nearer to it. It was… _colder_ that usual.

A light cool breeze stroked my cheeks, combed through my open hair. It felt strange because, usually, I didn't feel anything at all. But though it was strange and foreign, it made me feel save and secure.

The dream ended abruptly when the cool wind suddenly vanished. My eyes flashed open, the bubble burst with a "cling". Everything around me was black like usual. But for a very brief moment I thought that there had been a tiny dim light point that marked the end of the dark tunnel which I had always seen as endless before…

Although I was curious about that light and about the world beyond the ink sea, at the other side of the tunnel, I didn't go there to check. As dazzling and amazing that light had been, it scared and alienated me even more. And so said the darkness. It told me that the light was dangerous and would hurt me. So I stayed where I was, in the save painless darkness…

The dream after the last one was bit colder and nearer to the green wall again. The wind was stronger now, but this time it came from behind me, pushing me and urging me to go faster. I heard a velvet voice calling me, it sounded foreign and familiar at the same time. And so did the word sound that the voice repeated again and again, like a magical spell.

"_Chloe… Chloe…"_

What was the meaning of this? Of this word and of this entire dream? Did this word symbolize a secret message? Was the voice demanding for help? –Well, it sounded desperate and sad enough to be interpreted as a cry for help.

I didn't know why but I somehow felt a huge urge to go and protect the calling one, to wrap my arms around him, to promise him that all would be fine.

But how could I reassure somebody, if I wasn't even able to take care of myself?

The next day, I was more than eager to go to sleep and dive into that dream again. I wanted to finally reach the green wall and see the source of the wonderful melodic voice. I knew that I could make it this time.

To my surprise the ink sea seemed to be more active that usual. It requested me to dance with it on itself and later, when I had been too exhausted to go on, it continued swinging and dancing around me alone. It seemed that it tried to do anything in order to keep me entertained and awake. Even when my eyes slowly fell shut, tired from watching the ink black water swirling around, it didn't stop. Its singing became rather louder and faster than quieter and slower. The darkness didn't want me to fall asleep, didn't want me to have that dream again, didn't want me to reach the green wall and the source of the voice.

But why? It usually never did anything without my command. Since when had it developed its own free will? Or was it me? Was it possible that deep down inside my heart, I was afraid of arriving at the green wall, was I terrified of seeing the source of the voice and then wouldn't recognize him, either?

However, it was too late to go back now. Being exhausted form singing and dancing for hours my eyes fell shut and I drifted off to sleep…

* * *

_hey guys! ^^_

_I'm sorry that I made you wait so long for this chap... but (unfortunatly) school had started and I'm now in junior year (German Class12) and - puh! it's hell!! XDD but I'll still grab any kind of oppotunity to write!! ^^ (during class for example ... XDD)_

_this chap was a little difficult to write.... no dialogs.... urgh.... XDD and the next one... omg.... *trying to not think about it!* XDD_

_I'll try to upload the next chap as soon as possible!! ^^ -Be patient please!! XDD_

_oh... while you're waiting: PLEASE REVIEW!! ^o^ thx!!_

_-Mulan-_


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19 –****Fighting–**

I was running again but the crowd of people was gone this time.

I felt the cool wind stroking my face, combing through my open hair. The giant green wall came nearer and nearer with every single step I took.

"_Faster… faster…"_ the voice inside me urged.

But I couldn't run faster, my feet were simply too heavy, it was kind of a miracle that my body didn't just strike and drop on the ground.

Breathing became rapid and hard, as of tons of plumb and other heavy objects were pressed against my chest. My throat was dry and my lungs felt like bursting.

Still the voice inside me wasn't satisfied with my efforts. _"Faster… faster… you have to make it! Before nightfall!"_

The situation reminded me on something… on darkness, on coldness, on thin white fabric floating in the wind, on wet moss and grass under a pair of small feet in boots, a pearl white full moon, on branches whipping pate pale cheeks and arms, and on… on a feeling…

A feeling of cold and heat at the same time, like being thrown into ice-cold water while been set on fire. A feeling that made me want to wrap my arms around my legs and hide in a tiny corner where nobody would ever be able to find me. A feeling that made everything around me silent, so I could hear my shaky breaths and the frantic beating of my heart, so loud and clearly like the rush of a waterfall or the pounding of a giant drum.

_Fear_, I suddenly remembered. _That's how this feeling is nominated as._

But now I wasn't scared. Yes, my heart was still hammering hard against my chest and my breath was way too quick to be called normal, but that was because of a totally different reason.

This wasn't fear – this was _excitement_, _anticipation_, the feeling a child had at Christmas evening before gift giving. It felt good.

I ran and ran, but the green wall seemed only to come in slow motion. I was putting so much effort into this but wasn't rewarded.

A part in me suggested to just stopping. If the green wall didn't want to come to me, why should I make a fool out of myself to arrive then?

However, I _wanted_ to reach it, I… I _had_ to, if I gave up now I would regret it afterwards. I didn't know why, somehow I was absolutely sure about this.

But my legs felt so tired, I guess I could take a break to catch my breath, just two minutes, or five…

"_Chloe!"_ the foreign, familiar velvet voice sounded, echoing in the wind. _"Chloe… Chloe… Chloe…"_

Suddenly, my legs didn't hurt anymore, breathing was easier instantly, my heartbeat calmed down a little. My whole body felt somehow lighter than before, as if those magical words had given me a pair of wings.

"_Chloe!"_

The cool breeze grew stronger, like fingers it stroked my cheeks, pulled gently my hair back, caressing the line of my lips…

"_Chloe!"_

_I'm here! _I wanted to reply but not one single tone would leave my mouth when I opened it.

What was going on? Why couldn't I speak anymore? What was wrong with me?

"_Chloe!"_

_I'm here! I'm here! Can you hear me? I'm here!_

"_Chloe…"_ the voice suddenly grew quieter. He was leaving – again!

_No! Wait for me! I'm here! Please!_

"…_Chloe…" _the voice echoed away, becoming quieter and quieter until only a whisper was left. _"Chloe……"_

_No! Don't! Wait for me! Don't leave! Don't leave me alone again!_ I begged, but still my voice wouldn't work.

The wind grew less and less and the arching pain in my legs and lungs came back immediately, attacking me like a carnivore that had just waited to overwhelm me.

_Tired… so tired…_, a part in me complained.

Fortunately, my stubborn part fought back. _No, don't! I've already come so far! I mustn't go back now!_

_But I'm too exhausted… I simply can't go any further…_

_Just keep going a little more! The goal isn't that far anymore!_

_Everything hurts… can't breathe…_

_Don't be so baby! This is my only chance!_

_What chance? There will be another chance again… All hurts… so tired…_

It became more and more difficult to lift my feet and arms. My breath came in cough and gasps. The heaviness crashed on my chest again, my legs grew weak like jelly, my hands started to shake. It was suddenly so cold, colder than before when the wind blew in my hair.

_So tired… so tired……_

I fought my eyes open, the lids felt as if they weighed tons. The giant green wall spread out in front of me. I just had to take one last step.

_So tired… everything hurts……_

Just one last step, _one last step!_ But I couldn't make my foot move, I could barely stand, barely breath.

_Too tired… too exhausted……_

I felt my lids fell shut, I didn't fought back, I had no power to fight back again. I noticed how my body slumped down like a marionette which's strings had been cut. I knew that I would hit the ground; I knew that it would hurt, and I knew that I wasn't able to do anything against it anymore.

"Chloe!"

Strong arms caught me, stopping me from falling. The cold contact was a relief for my overheated skin. My eyes flashed open to see the most wonderful eyes that I had ever seen, ever known. –They had the color of melted gold.

* * *

_I know it's evil to stop here XDD but I love these kinds of Chap-Ends!! (only if they're wirtten by ME of course!! XDD *Muhahaha!!!*)_

_wow... this story is becoming longer and longer~~! it's the 19. Chap already and still no end to be seen!! OMG! °o° still so much to write..... . what have I done?!! XDDD_

_well... however... I hope you like it ^^ -pleaser review!! ^o^_

_-Mulan-_

_PS. AbiiWitlock: hey! I really made it today! XDD guess you've to ask me when the next chap will be up more often! XDD_


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter**** 20 –Back–**

I stared at him, that was the only task I was capable of now. I didn't _dare_ to do anything else either. I didn't dare to move, didn't dare to speak, I didn't even dare to blink or to breathe. Because I was sure that if I blinked now, he would definitely disappear, vanishing into thin air as he had done before. Never coming back again.

Yes, he hadn't come back, he'd said that he wouldn't. This was just a dream here, just a product of my imagination, like a Fata Morgana, giving the one who's dying of thirst new hope.

But I didn't fall for that false hope, it would just make the pain worse later. He wasn't back and he would never come back to me either. It was simply impossible…

He stared back at me, his expression showing the same disbelief that I was feeling, mixed with surprise and shock. Even in my dreams, he didn't want to be with me. I fought the coming tears away –they would just disturb my view– regarding his flawless features, the slightly angular face, the straight line of his nose, the soft pitch-black hair, the perfect curve of his lips… I saved his eyes for last, those brilliant shiny golden eyes, shimmering like two little suns in the darkness. So deep and warm –warmer than any other part of his body–, so perfect to get lost in.

He didn't speak either, but I still remembered his voice so clearly as if it'd been just yesterday when he we chatted airily at our meadow. His wonderful melodic voice, so warm and deep, so calming and soothing, telling me that all was fine without using any words at all.

I wished that he would say something so I could get lost in the beautiful composition that his voice was, but I didn't dare to ask him. I really shouldn't push my luck any further.

So I continued staring at him, ordering my inner monster to be content with just looking at him, because this would be all I was able to get.

And he stared back.

I didn't know how long this perfect moment of silence and joy lasted –I wished time would stop now so this would last forever–, but after some time he suddenly made an effort to get up.

"No!" I screamed panicked, my arms dashed forward to wrap themselves around his neck. "Don't!"

"Chloe-"

"No!" I cut him off, shaking my head frantically, while my grip tightened. I felt my nails bore into my arms; my fingers were shaking. "Don't! Don't leave! Please! Don't leave!"

"Shh…Calm down, Chloe," I heard his velvet voice soothing me, and felt how he started rocking us forth and back – he was holding me in his arms? "Calm down… The floor is cold. I just want to put you back in your bed."

Another wave of panic washed over me. He wanted to get rid of me. "No! Don't! Please, don't! Please! Don't leave me!"

"Shh… I won't, Chloe… I promise I won't," he assured me but I knew it was only a trick to make me give up.

I stared up at his face, my eyes torn open, fighting against the reflex to blink. He would be gone if I surrendered, he would be gone for sure. "Don't leave me! Don't leave me alone again!" I shook my head, my eyes not leaving his. They were so soft, so full with emotions, so full with pain and agony. The gold of his eyes melted as if he was crying.

Did it hurt him so much to be with me? Even in my imagination?

But then he suddenly pulled me closer, pressing me against his marble chest as hard as he could without breaking any bones of mine. His hand rubbing my back while the other combed through my hair, they where shaking.

"I'm sorry, Chloe," he said, showering my head with kisses, his voice was trembling. "I'm so sorry. Forget what I told you that day. It was a lie – it was all a lie. I love you, I always did and I always will love you! Don't be afraid. I'm here, and I'll stay with you. As long as you want me to."

I knew this wasn't really happening, but I couldn't stop myself from replying to him, it was a need.

"_Forever_!" I demanded. I felt his shirt getting wet at my face, I was crying. "Stay with me – forever!"

"If that's what you wish, I'll stay with you – forever," he promised, kissing my forehead. His cool lips felt so good against my heated skin. "Forever… forever…"

It was suddenly quiet again, only my sobs and Adrian's soft whispers disturbed the illusion of perfect silence.

I winced. Could I think his name without being afraid of been pierced by unbearable pain again? Was it already so far? Could I really be sure that he wouldn't leave me alone again?

"Forever," he chanted softly in my ear while still rocking us forth and back in a comfortable pace. "I'll be here, forever…"

I wished that I could believe him, that I could simply get lost in his arms, in this moment, not worrying about waking up later and discover that my room was empty again. The darkness couldn't help me a second time, it was gone, leaving me to myself. I bit my lip –bit it hard– to not scream around again.

I didn't know how, but he noticed it. "Chloe, don't. You'll hurt yourself," he reminded me softly, easing my teeth by rubbing my lips gently with his finger.

Our eyes met and for a moment, I felt as if everything would be fine again, that my fears were ridiculous, that he would never even think about leaving me again. But the moment didn't last. "Don't leave me alone," I begged in a whisper, my voice broke at the end.

He shook his head. "Definitely not," he said, his voice held something final in it. He bended down to my face to kiss my tears away. His lips kissed a trail from my eyes down my cheeks until they paused at the corner of my mouth. "I'll stay with you – forever," he vowed before his lips finally crashed on mine.

I had thought that I would never forget the feeling when he'd kissed me, but obviously my memory didn't do him justice – not at all.

The way his lips melted into mine, the feeling of inhaling his intoxicating scent, the sensation when I pressed my tongue against his cool smooth lips and hearing him moaning deeply in response – it was incomparable.

_He'__s back!_ the lightheaded part of mine started singing and dancing in joy. _He's actually back!_

_No_, I silenced it. I wouldn't fall for it so easily. It was just a dream, a wonderful dream, the most wonderful dream I had had for so long. But not real.

We broke apart, panting for air. He kissed my neck, probably giving me the chance to get some air, but the plan failed as soon as his cool tongue darted out, licking the skin at my pulse point.

No, not real, just a dream… but why did this feel so damn real?

His lips worked up my neck to my jaw and then came back to my lips again.

_He's back!_ the stupid lightheaded –and obviously masochistic– voice shouted again. _He's really back at your side again – admit it!_

_No… it couldn't be__… he told me he wouldn't return again… he told he didn't love me anymore!_

"No!" I screamed when I reached the last thought, pulling away.

"Chloe!" he sounded alarmed, concerned, scared, surprised and somehow hurt all at the same time. "Chloe, what's wrong? Did I hurt you?" –he shook my shoulders gently but also urgently– "Chloe, talk to me."

I shook my head fiercely, pressing both hands to my ears, the tears started to fall again. "No, no, _no_! Don't! Don't leave me!"

"Chloe-"

"Don't leave me!" I was becoming more and more desperate. "Even if this is just a dream – don't leave me! _Please_!"

And again he pressed me to his chest, choking hysterical attack. "Shh… all is fine. I'm here – for real. This isn't just a dream. It's real."

I sobbed hard, still not convinced. "No, it's not. In reality, you're not here. In reality, you don't love me. In reality you loathe me." My voice broke at the last words; they still hurt so much.

He shook his head, so fiercely that my body shook with him. "No, that's not true. I would never hate you – I _could_ never hate you. I love you, Chloe. I love you more than anything else in this world, in this universe."

_See, I told you!_ the carefree voice chanted, sounding sure and self-confident.

I didn't trust it. "Impossible," I protested, still sobbing. "It's simply imp-possible."

He chuckled; it sounded hurt instead of amused. "Why? Why would you think so?"

"B-because you told me." I tried very hard to not remember that horrible day, those destructive words.

He winced and his arms around me tightened as if he was the one who was afraid of the opponent would pop into thin air the next blink. "Silly girl," he whispered into my ear, sending shivers down my spine, his voice calm but the pain was still evident. "Why did you believe those words –those lies– so easily but wouldn't listen to the truth now?"

"But-"

"What did I just tell you?" he asked.

"B-but-"

"What did I just tell you, Chloe?" he repeated, ignoring my protests.

I buried my head into his chest, not daring to say it. It would just make the pain worse. He waited and I let him wait, I wouldn't say it, I couldn't say it. After a while of depressing silence he pulled back to look at me. I looked down, avoiding his intense gaze but he lifted my chin with one hand –the other one still at my back to press our bodies against each other–, forcing me to meet his eyes. They were unreadable –concern, alarm, sadness, fear, pain–, holding so many emotions at once that I couldn't define which was ruling him at the moment.

"Say it," he demanded softly, his sweet breath washing over my face, weakening my will. "What did I just tell you? What do I feel for you? Say it, Chloe, please; I need to hear it from you."

"But it's not real." I had to bring up all the resistance I still had to speak out these words.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his tone still soft.

"I… I don't know…" _God, I so wanted him to be right!_

"Then say it," he urged gently. "Say it and you will know. Please, Chloe." –_God, how should I resist him when he begged me like that?_– "Say it."

"You said…" I started but was still unable to end the sentence.

"Yes?"

I took a deep breath to clear my mind, but it didn't work because I inhaled his intoxicating sweet scent, and with that my last bit of resistance broke. "You loved me."

He sighed and a dazzling smile appeared on his lips, taking all doubts form me. The tension in his eyes vanished, been replaced by pure joy. "Yes, I'll always love you. Chloe… my shooting star."

_Ha! See, I was right! He _is_ back! _the happy voice cheered and finally I believed its words.

Yes. Adrian was back – he was truly back.

* * *

_waaahhhh!!! Adrian's back!!! *party!! XDDD*_

_ok.. I know, I know... he'd only gone for.... *counting* 3 chaps... ^^ not very long... Stephenie Meyer's "New Moon" had been much much better ^^ but I simply couldn't write more of those "dark-Chaps" XDD *lame excuse*_

_and I really needed him back for the second part of the story, where he... umm... I won't tell you now - top secret!! ;)_

_soooooo~~~ did you enjoy this "honey" chap?? ^^ I know... it's SO clichéd! *must've read dozens of romance novels without me noticing* XDD_

_please review!! ^o^_

_-Mulan-_

_PS. wow~ this chap was quick! -don't expect the next chap up so soon ^^ I've to learn for classtests for the next 2 weeks... T.T --"Life... no: SCHOOL sucks and then you've to go to work - yeah, we should be so grateful!" XDD_


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter21 –Missing–**

I fell asleep eventually. I didn't want to, too afraid of Adrian might vanish if I closed my eyes. I'd fought them open again and again, suppressing the urge to blink.

Adrian had stopped persuading me to sleep when another panic-attack had shaken through me, causing me to cry and scream with hysteria. Instead of trying to talk sense into me, he switched into "calming-mode". With his whispered reassurances –better than any kind of lullaby– and his strong arms around me, my lids had finally fallen shut…

Just to flash open and find myself in an empty room. My head spun around, my eyes searched for those eyes of golden suns frantically while tears of desperation begun to blur my view. A painful sound suddenly cut through the air and everything started to shake –the walls, the ceiling, the entire world–, everything seemed to fall to pieces again, burying me down with them.

I couldn't care less. May heaven crash upon me; it would be just fine! Maybe I would die then? What a wonderful thought – dying, having the time of agony finally come to an end.

"Chloe!" someone called but I didn't react, it wasn't the voice I wanted –no, _needed_– to hear. "Chloe, calm down, _chérie_, all is fine. _Maman est ici_. I'm here."

Marginally, I noticed a hand rubbing my back. I guess it was supposed to be soothing, but it wasn't the hand I wanted and needed – this hand was warm. So instead of calming down, the room went on shaking and another shrill sound cut through the air. It was a scream of endless agony, of a breaking heart.

It hurt, hurt so much, the pain ripped me apart, making it hard to breath, causing my heart to hammer like a rock against my ribs, unbearable.

I wanted to be left alone –wanted to have everything come to an end, wished death to come and get me–, but the warm hand at my back just wouldn't leave and the foreign voice didn't fall silent.

I pulled my legs up to my chin, cuddling together to a ball and fell to my side, my eyes stared holes into the dark wooden wall. I kept laying there like that for who knew how long, waiting for the nasty voice and the terribly warm hand to go away.

After some time, when the room was finally silent, I heard the sound of air been expelled –a familiar sound but still not identifiably–, and then the warm hand disappeared, at last.

Feeling relieved, I closed my eyes, trying to go back to the darkness that had protected me, waiting for death to show up – but nothing happened. Neither death nor the darkness would shear their mercy with me.

The room stayed silent and the aching pain went on burning its way through my blood, ripping each single cell of mine apart. Another heartbreaking sound, but not as loud as the ones before, rather a whimper –a beg for mercy– than a scream.

The room went on shaking. And the only hope I had left was that the ceiling would finally crash down on me…

"Chloe."

The shaking stopped, I gasped –recognizing that I'd held my breath–, my eyes flew open and I spun around.

Adrian was kneeling at my bed, one hand reached out towards me, his flawless face grimaced with pain.

Without a second of hesitation –without even thinking about it– I jumped up and threw my arms around his neck, burying my face into his wonderful marble shoulder, inhaling eagerly his sweet scent. He responded immediately. His strong arms encircled my torso, erasing the slightest hint of distance between us, and pressed his cool lips on my head.

"Chloe," he groaned, sounding like someone who had been dying of thirst in the desert and then finally had found the lifesaving oasis. "Chloe, calm down. All is fine. I'm here, I won't leave you, I promise I will never leave you. Calm down."

A forth heartbreaking whimper shrilled through the air and then I noticed that it was me who was screaming.

"Shh… I'm here, all is fine, all is fine…" he chanted in his velvet voice again and again, and slowly I relaxed.

Silence filled the air, beautiful, perfect silence. It was one of those moments when it felt like all happiness and light of this world –of this entire universe– was lying in my two little hands. And, as oddly it may sound, this feeling wasn't only a simple illusion. The most perfect angel ever was lying in my arms, how more fortunate could you be?

Yes, he was an angel –no he was even _more_!–, but my brain couldn't come up with a better description. He was an angel – _my_ angel. The only lack of prove for these statements were the missing pair of snow-white wings.

_But he does have wings, doesn't he? He'd already showed me this before when he-_

"No," I gasped, forbidding myself to finish that horrifying thought.

"Chloe." He pulled back a little to see my face, his tone filled with panic. "Chloe, what's wrong? I'm here. Tell me what is frightening you. Chloe, calm down."

I took deep breaths, but my lungs still felt empty. I looked up at his wonderful soft golden eyes. They held so much pain, suffering with me. He was such a beautiful angel and I was making him feel bad instead of thanking him for his pity for me, no wonder he wanted to fly away from me. I convinced myself that I would let him go if he asked for his freedom again, it would be better for him that way, it would be the right thing to do. Pain as sharp as a knife cut through my heart and the room –no I– started shaking again. As if they wanted to put on a fight, my fingers dug into his shirt, clinging to it as if it was a lifeboat in the ocean, refusing to let go.

I mustn't, I mustn't keep him with me, it was selfish and cruel. He had deserved someone so much better than me. How many times had he called himself a monster? If that was true –which was absolutely impossible of course–, what would I be then?

"Chloe, love, please," his velvet voice begged. "Talk to me."

_God! I can't do this. I would miss him –no I _will_– miss him, miss him so much…_

He sighed, it was similar to the sound of air been expelled that I'd heard before, just much more beautiful. He leaned forward to lay his forehead against mine. His skin was so pleasantly cool against my heated body. "What have I done?" he muttered almost inaudibly. "What have I done to you?"

I shook my head without breaking the contact with him. "Nothing," I whispered in a sob, my voice rough from all the screaming and crying.

He sighed again, his exquisite breath washing over my face; I inhaled deeply to get as much as possible. "I'm a monster."

"No, you're not," I objected immediately, it was almost an unwritten rule for me to disagree with him as soon as he called himself a monster.

He pulled back, staring at me with disbelieve. "Look at you," he ordered, though it was impossible for me to look at myself, therefore his golden eyes wandered from my face down my neck to the rest of my body and then back up again. "You're broken, shattered to thousands of tiny cullet. And I was the one who had made you fall to pieces. Only me, no one else," he added when he saw me open my mouth to protest.

Did he seriously think I would hold it back when he'd cut me off? "This is not your fault. None of this was your fault." He opened his mouth, planning to cut me off, but I didn't even gave him the chance to say "beep". "All of this, everything that had happened, it's all because of me," I said, so fast that my tongue tripped over the words. "It's my own fault that I'm so weak, that I'm such a coward, simply holing up in a little dark corner without thinking about the consequences. I should have stayed calm and collected; it was so stupid. I promise, next time I'll-"

Suddenly, from one blink to the next, Adrian's lips were on mine, cutting me off in the most effective way. "Don't dare to even think about a next time," he growled into my ear while I panted for air. "There's not going to be a next time – _never_." He kissed me again, his smooth lips moving irresistibly slow against mine, making it very hard to think, which was obviously his goal. He was breaking my resistance, the wall that I had tried to build between us so it wouldn't hurt so much later. With one blow –one kiss– the wall cracked and fell, not that it would have put up much of a fight – it had never been very solid anyway.

I couldn't explain how but the next wink I was suddenly lying on my bed with Adrian hovering above me. Hungrily, his lips wandered down to my jaw, my neck, leaving a trace of fire on my already heated skin. Unlike the last time he didn't made any efforts to get me out of my night grown when his lips hit the nasty collar – much to my disappointment of course. His kisses returned to my mouth and I parted my lips to taste his dreamlike sweet breath. Having a will themselves again, my hands slid out of his soft hair, down his neck and shoulder to his chest. Where my fingers started working on the buttons of his shirt immediately.

Adrian froze and pulled back before I had opened the first button. "No, Chloe," he said softly but still final. "Too dangerous."

I bit my lip, forcing the tears of rejection back. He was right. It was too dangerous for him to get more and more involved with me.

He slid back to me. His hand stroke softly my cheek, a tiny round drop of water was shimmering on his finger when he pulled back. "Chloe," he whispered in an apologetic tone, pulling me into his arms. "I'm sorry. But it really is too dangerous for you."

I looked up at him, blinking in irritation. Dangerous for _me_?

He lifted my right hand, kissing my wrist for explanation.

"Oh," I remembered.

"I don't want to hurt you again."

"It was an accident," I interjected defensively.

"I don't want to hurt you," he repeated with more force in his voice. "Not even by accident." He paused and his expression suddenly saddened. "And I don't want a reason for leaving you again," he added in a low painful whisper.

I stared at him, still confused. "Reason?"

"Of course," he said with a bitter smile, stroking lovingly my hair. "What else would make me leave you?"

I concentrated on his hand in my hair –his long slender fingers caressed each single strand as if they were made off gold–, trying very hard to not think about that nightmarish day at the meadow. It felt like a nightmare. Now being here in his protective arms, that day seemed like nothing but a bad dream – the worst dream one could imagine.

"Oh, Chloe," he sighed, his arms around me tightened. "Those were lies," he explained, reading my face. "Stupid, senseless lies. You have to know, you have to see that there wasn't even the slightest hint of truth in the words I'd said that day. I had hurt you, Chloe, and I was terrified of hurting you again. This time it was just your wrist, but what was going to break next? –A rib? Your spine?" –his hand wandered down, stroking the places he had listed– "I couldn't put your life into such a risk because of my selfish desires again. I love you, love you so much that the word 'love' doesn't even really begin to describe the way I feel for you, the intensity of the feelings I hold for you… So I decided that it'd be best for you if I left, allow you to live your life without such great dangers like I am, to live your life the way it should be – without me." –in total contrasts to his words he hugged me closer to him– "It was so hard, harder than I had ever imagined. Saying those lies out aloud. I had practiced to make my voice not break or my will weaken in the middle of the show. But saying those cruel things into your with pain filled face, looking at your beautiful eyes, wide with panic." –he swallowed and took a shaky breath with closed eyes. My eyes had started to water again in the mean time– "I had never wished so much to die ever before, not even the moment the fire of change was burning me. I just wanted to take you in my arms when I sad that I wouldn't…"

He pressed his lips to my head, rubbing his cheek against my hair, unable to finish the sentence. I was glad that he didn't say those destructive words again, the memory was bad enough and I wished nothing more but to forget that day forever.

"I missed you," I breathed, silent tears slid down my cheeks and made his shirt wet.

"I missed you, too," he replied softly, his voice filled with warmth and love. "My shooting star…"

Adrian stayed with me almost all of the time, only leaving me for a few minutes when my mother or Granny came to check on me. At first, I didn't even recognize them. I just stared out of the window where Adrian had vanished through. They watched me for a while, sitting at my bed and hoping that I would talk to them, but always left the tray of food with a sigh on my nightstand.

I hadn't even noticed how unfair I was acting before Adrian had pointed it out.

"You shouldn't do this to them," he said gently one night before it was time to sleep.

I blinked surprised. "Huh?"

"Your mother and your grandmother," he reminded me patiently. "Or do you believe that your meals appeared out of nowhere?"

I followed his gaze and saw the barely touched plate of soup on my nightstand – I never had much of an appetite and Adrian always had to convince to eat at least a little bit. Realization dawned on me, followed by overwhelming guilt. "Oh my… I'm a terrible person," I sobbed, staring at the plate. "How could I do this to them? I'm horrible, the most horrible daughter and granddaughter in this entire universe… I-I…"

"Shh… don't blame yourself, Chloe," Adrian assured me, stroking my head soothingly. "Just talk to them when they come to you again. Don't worry, they will understand and forgive you. I'm sure they will."

I accepted Adrian's advice and talked to Granny who came the following morning. I told her that I felt hugely sorry for causing them so much trouble and worry. I told her that I had needed some time alone to think but left out the reason why though.

She was surprised and happy, her eyes were shining with tears when she had left to tell mom about the good news.

Mother stormed into my room a few seconds later to see and hear the miracle herself. She hugged and kissed me when I had only said a simple "Hello, _Maman_", crying tears of happiness like Granny. They didn't urge me to say more than I was comfortable with, both so happy to ask for more.

And I was happy, too – happy because they were happy and because Adrian kept staying at my side.

One night he was sitting on my bed, holding me in his arms like he did every night. It was November now and the stars were covered by a thick layer of rain clouds. In my dark room, Adrian's eyes were the only source of light. They were golden again because he'd been hunting while I'd had dinner with mom and Granny. Refusing to go to sleep I asked Adrian to tell me a story.

"What do you want to hear?" he demanded with an amused tone in his voice.

"Tell me where you have been," I said, using all courage I had. "while we'd been… apart."

I had already wanted to ask that question a while ago but never found a good moment or maybe it was just the fact that my curiosity hadn't been bigger than my courage before. And now I knew why. Suddenly, Adrian's body was tense, frozen like a perfect sculpture. I bit my lip. Why couldn't I just keep my mouth shut?

"Do you remember Carlisle?" he abruptly started to my surprise, his quiet voice sounded loud in the nightly silence around us.

I nodded. Of course, I remembered him. The foreign vampire who had encouraged Adrian to leave the Volturi and go to the New World, who had shown him the way to live his life as he dreamed to.

"I went to him," he continued, his eyes staring at the opposite wall like the last time. "After… that day, I had absolutely no idea what to do. I felt so lost and empty, as if the sun had fallen down from sky. Keeping myself from running back to you, I went looking for Carlisle – the only person in this world who understands me. Or at least tries seriously hard to understand me," he added with a weak smile. "I didn't tell him about us at first. I thought I felt ashamed of being so weak, I'd never liked to admit being not as strong as others are. It sounded like a plausible reason. So I just told Carlisle that I had simply wanted to pay my old friend a visit. He didn't ask any questions but I'm sure that he hadn't believed me already at that time. He knows me." –he paused, staring at the wall, completely lost in his memories– "He found out after some time of course.

"It was October and we were hunting in the Rocky Mountains. The smell hit me like a bolt

from the blue, absolutely unpredicted. Without thinking about it I dashed towards the source of the scent – I hadn't felt so… _alive_ for five long weeks. The track led me to a wide round meadow which was covered with a carpet of clover."

Tears formed in my eyes, sliding down my cheeks when I finally understood what he was talking about.

"I have never felt such a powerful pain before," Adrian confessed, his velvet voice rough with emotions. "Pain hotter than fire, colder than ice, so sudden and longsome; like a sadistic murderer, who was ripping each single cell of mine apart. Destroying me but not killing me, making sure the suffering would last as long as possible."

I pressed myself closer against his body, so every single inch of mine would touch him. The circle, his arms were forming around me, grew smaller. He could see that I knew the agony he was talking about as good as he did.

"I broke down, literally. And the moment my face hit the ground I finally realized that it wasn't my pride which was forbidding me to tell Carlisle the truth. It was my heart –my cold silent heart– that was missing you; your smile, your eyes, your voice, your warmth, your smell – _everything_, I missed everything of you, Chloe… And then, when Carlisle asked me for the reason of my sudden visit again, I told him, told him the entire bitter truth."

"And… what did he say?" I prompted when my tears had eventually dried.

"He was… er… _stunned_," he admitted, chuckling to my surprise. "He hadn't expected me being in love, at least not now… and not with a human girl."

"It's not very common, I guess," I giggled, blushing.

He shook his head, laughing. "No, predators usually don't fall for they prey."

I laughed, not being the slightest bit uncomfortable about him calling me his meal. "So, what did he say after… the first shock?" I asked after a few minutes.

He smirked at my choice of words. "He tried to convince me." –Adrian's face was serious again– "Tried to talk sense into me, to make me see that it was best to run back to your side instantly. But I didn't listen to him. I was still too certain with the idea of protecting you. I thought I would be right and put his wise advices down as nonsense. I mean, I was the one with the experience, not he. I was such a stubborn little boy who thought he had already grown up, although he was still miles away from adulthood. I even accused Carlisle for not having the right to tell me anything because he wouldn't have the slightest hint of what I was living through. I'm such an idiot."

"You're not," I objected softly, stroking his cheek. "You came back. Like your father told you to."

He smiled, leaning into my hand. "Yeah, he really is a father for me in so many ways. The best father a child could dream of. He wasn't even angry with me when I called him…unknowing."

"He has no wife?" I wondered. This Carlisle sounded like a family-person. Well, did vampires marry at all?

Adrian shook his head. "No, he hasn't found the right woman jet. But one day he will, I sincerely hope that he will."

Yes, I hoped that, too…

A few days later, Adrian suddenly left through the window, saying that he needed to hunt. Before I could ask for any further information, he had already vanished with a knowing smile.

One second later, the door flew open and several people burst into the room; a girl with wavy blond hair and sparkling chestnut-brown eyes was at the front.

–Chantal!

"_Surprise_!" they chorused loud and happily.

My mouth dropped open. Yeah, "surprise" was a good catchword here…

"Chloe!" Claudine and Fabienne squealed, running towards me and taking me in a choking tight hug.

"Hey!" Chantal complained, trying to jostle the two girls around my neck away. "_I_'m the best friend here, so the first hug is _mine_!"

Claudine stuck her tongue out at her. "The early bird catches the worm."

"Exactly," Fabienne agreed with a nod, grinning. Both of them were still hanging on me.

Chantal balled her hands to fists, her eyes narrowed dangerously. She could be taken as a vampire!

"Girls, girls," Dominique said, his arms moving calmingly up and down. "No need to go all violent now. There's enough Chloe for all of us here."

Antoine, Janette and Julien laughed in agreement.

Ah, it felt good to see them again. I wanted to greet them properly but Claudine and Fabienne were still hugging me firmly. "Umm… h-hi, guys," was all I managed to stammer.

It was perfectly silent at once. Five pairs of eyes started at me in awe, as if I'd just fallen out of space.

Only Julien didn't looked shocked. His gentle smile showed relief and joy. "Welcome back, Chloe," he spoke the words with a clear and honest voice.

I smiled back. "Thank you. It feels good to be back."

With that, the tension disappeared; instead, the warmth of happiness filled my room, my heart. Being encircled by my precious friends, seeing their cheerful faces, their resplendent smiles – I couldn't ask for more at the moment.

"We missed you, _chérie_," Fabienne said, her eyes wet with tears.

I hugged her back. "I missed you, too, all of you."

Yes, I really had missed them, though I hadn't even noticed it before. The best friends I could have ever dreamed of – they were all here now: Chantal, Claudine, Fabienne, Dominique, Antoine, Julien, Janette and-

I paused, looking puzzled into the round. I counted, counted again, then counted for a third time; but there still were only five of them. One was missing… Where was…

"Louis?"

The tension recaptured the room at once; the happy smiles were washed away from the faces, being replaced by worry and anxiety. Janette was biting her lip, her eyes stuck to the floor, and so were Antoine's and Dominique's. Fabienne and Claudine threw each other a nervous glance. Chantal looked through me, staring at the wall, her hands balled to fists again, but this time she did it to stop them shaking. Julien was watching the forest through the window, his face unreadable.

A bad feeling started to form inside my chest, growing bigger and bigger rapidly.

"We don't know," Chantal finally answered, her voice not louder than a whisper. "Louis is already missing for a month. Nobody knows where he'd gone."

* * *

_omg... this chap was loooooooooooooong~~~! XDD I didn't know that I could write so long chaps! XDD_

_I'm sorry that it took so long to update... but this chap is long too, so I hope that it's a good apology ^^_

_oh, and by the way: Sylvia and I eventually managed to sit down and finish **the 2nd chap of "OlypmicGames in OlympicMts"**! *party!* XDD_

_**please all read "Olympic" and review! ^o^ -thx!**_

_oh, and please review here too! ;) -thx!_

_-Mulan-_


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22 –Selfish–**

"What?" I demanded; my voice was an octave too high with hysteria. "What'd you mean; Louis is missing for a month? W-what happened?"

"We don't know," Chantal answered, her face depressed. "One day he walks home with us and the next he's gone."

I stared down at my hands; they were shaking with anxiety.

"His father and some other men went looking for him the same night. They were lucky that it wasn't cloudy and the moon was shining, but still they couldn't find him – they didn't discover a footprint of his."

I bit my lip to suppress the panicked scream that was fighting its way from chest to mouth.

"Don't worry, Chloe," Janette assured me softly, taking my trembling hands in her warm ones. "We won't give up until we have found him."

"Yes, Janette is right," Dominique agreed with way too much enthusiasm for my taste. "Louis isn't stupid. Even if he'd lost his way in the forest, he'll find a way to survive a few weeks, we all could. And tomorrow morning he'll be with as here to visit you."

I looked up at him, blinking at his confident face in irritation.

"We'll go look for him this night," Antoine explained, his voice and face determined. "And we won't come home before we'd fou-"

"_No!_" I screamed, cutting him off mid-sentence.

Claudine and Fabienne jumped startled, the rest just stared at me, their eyes wide open with alarm. My whole body was shaking hard. I wrapped my arms around myself to stop the shaking; it didn't work. I didn't know why I was reacting so extremely, I just knew that something was wrong and that none of my friends had to come too near to the forest. "No! You _must not_ go into the forest!"

The door flew open with a loud "bang" and Mom rushed to my side, taking me in her arms. "Shh… all is fine, _chérie_. _Maman est ici_." She meant to comfort me but her voice was filled with too much panic and her arms were too warm.

"You mustn't go," I begged, my cries damped by Mom's chest. "You mustn't go into the forest."

I didn't hear my mother telling my friends to leave for today, neither did I see their concerned faces vanishing through the door one by one. All I could see was the forest, opening its giant dark mouth, pulling Chantal, Antoine, Janette, Julien, Fabienne, Claudine, Dominique and Louis down into its depths.

"No," I breathed, my voice shaking with my body. "No!"

"Shh… all is fine, Chloe, I'm here…"

My head snapped up, meeting a pair of soft golden eyes. I looked around but my mother wasn't in the room anymore; I hadn't noticed her leaving. I turned back to Adrian who was still watching me with worry, form the edge of the bed. I stretched my arms a little toward him and he slid nearer to pull me onto his lap immediately. I leaned my head against his chest and sighed with relief.

"You knew it, didn't you?" I prompted after a while of thoughtful silence. "You knew that Louis is gone."

He sighed. "Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked, looking up to read his face. It was filled with concern.

"I didn't want to upset you," he explained honestly. "I was afraid that you might go back to… _that state_…" I swallowed. I knew perfectly well which _state_ he meant. "I should have told you. He is a close friend of yours after all. I'm sorry," he added with remorse.

I touched his cheek with my fingertips and he leaned in my hand with a sigh in response. "It's okay," I said. "You just meant well."

"But still," he objected. "I should have told you. You have a right to know what is happening to your friends. Besides, it would have been better for you, if I'd explained the situation to you slowly rather in such a sudden way."

"Do you know something about Louis?" I asked after a while, changing the subject so he would stop blaming himself. Moreover, if Louis had gone lost in the forest, Adrian was most likely to be the best person to find him. He was kind of living in the forest after all…

He shook his head, his eyes apologetic. "I've been trying to track him down for about two weeks but haven't found anything yet. I wish Demetri would be here, he's a better tracker than I am."

"Why can't you find him?" I wondered. "You always find me." I gasped in sudden realization. "Does that mean that something bad happened to him?" My body started shaking again by just imagining Louis in the dark forest lying on the cold ground, his face buried in mud.

Adrian's arms around me tightened, hugging me closer to his chest to choke the raising panic inside of me. "Shh… Don't worry, Chloe. I'm sure he's fine," he soothed but for once I couldn't quiet believe him. "I just need a little longer to find him than finding you, that's all."

"Why?" I wondered, welcoming the little distraction to erase the horrible thoughts.

"It's because that I've got used to you," he explained, watching me with soft eyes. "Your smell, your warmth, your heartbeat – all my sense react toward you in a way that couldn't be compared to others. It's as if I'd developed a sixth sense that is specially made for detecting you."

For others it might have sounded scary, like some kind of paranoia perhaps, but in my ears, these were some of the most beautiful words that I'd ever heard.

"I love you," I whispered, my voice trembling with emotions. Tears of joy started to form in my eyes.

I couldn't understand why he always looked so astonished when I said that I'd love him. Weren't the feelings I held for him obvious to see? It felt as if they were already written on my face so everyone could read.

"I love you, too," he breathed against my forehead, his sweet scent lulled me like a cloud – soft and cool. "I love you so much, my shooting star."

I lifted my head. Our lips touched in a sweet, short moment, intoxicating, welcoming, demanding – an invitation for more. And more I got.

With one hand at the back of my head and the other at the small of my back, Adrian pressed our bodies against each other, our lips crushing onto each other's, joining in an eager and passionate kiss – a kiss that could have stopped time from going on…

A kiss that _should_ have made time to stop so it would last forever. Unfortunately, it didn't.

We broke apart –both more than only reluctant– panting for air.

"Antoine," I eventually remembered after my heartbeat had returned to its normal pace. "Julien. Dominique."

"Don't worry, Chloe," Adrian assured me. "They will be fine."

I bit my lip in anxiety. Although I told myself to believe him, I couldn't. I was simply too worried about my friends; too afraid of something bad might happen to them. Like Adrian had said: _"Dangers are everywhere. They hide at the places where you can't see them, that's why they are so dangerous."_ And the forest was filled with those dangers, like the fox that had attacked me or those Grey Wolves our parents always warned us of. If one of them met a wolf… if one of them got in danger…

"Chloe? Chloe! Stop! Look at me." He cupped my small face with his big hands, forcing my eyes, which were torn open by panic, to meet his concerned gaze. "Don't think about those horrible possibilities. They won't come true. Are you listening to me, Chloe? _Nothing_ will harm your friends. I'll make sure of that personally."

I blinked confused. "W-what do you mean? You will make sure of that personally? –What does that mean?"

"Well, since you're so worried about your friends, I thought that I could follow them tonight. Silently of course, they won't notice me. I would just stand in the dark and keep an eye on them to make sure that they'll return home safely."

His words sunk into my head unbelievably slowly. He was going to protect Antoine, Julien and Dominique on their reckless mission. He would be going to stay in the forest tonight. He wouldn't be at my side. I would be alone, again…

"Chloe?"

"No," I whimpered, my voice a few octaves too high with hysteria. "No, don't. Don't leave me."

"Chloe-"

"Don't, please, don't leave me. _Please_."

"Of course I won't leave you," he promised immediately, stroking my head and rocking us forth and back. It was a little too fast to be calming. "It was just an idea that… never mind. I won't leave you, Chloe, never."

I knew it was selfish, so unbelievably selfish. But at this moment I couldn't imagine a life –a single second– without Adrian holding me against his protective chest.

That night I dreamed of the wolves for the first time.

* * *

_Hey guys!! ^^_

_I'm soooooooooooooooo~~~~ sorry that I made you wait soooo~~ long!!! T.T You must've already assumed that I got hit by a truck or sth like that.... XD I had tons of classtests the last few weeks and I kind of couldn't come up with a good idea to go on.... . SHAME ON ME!! X____X_

_puuh.... this story is (finally) about to come to an end..... I already know HOW it'll end ^^ but I've to wirte it first.... damn -.- this is gonna be difficult... I hope you still have enough patience to wait for me to finish this at last ^^_

_and I already know what to write for the sequel................. *really should get my brain checked... XD* -Oops... that's supposed to be top secret now! -Forget what you've just read immediatly!! XDD_

_please review (like always!) ^o^_

_-Mulan-_

_PS. oh, by the way! have you already seen "NewMoon" the movie?? ^^ I've seen it, and I think that it's kind of better than the first movie - it was more like the book - like it was SUPPOSED to be ^^_


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23 –****Gone–**

In my dream, it was dark. I was in the forest; I could see trees and grass in the dim moonlight. A few feet away stood Louis, his back turned toward me. I called him, happy that he seemed to be fine.

He didn't react.

I called him again and a third and a forth time, but still he wouldn't move an inch. I was just about to walk toward him to check what was wrong, when Adrian suddenly appeared at my side, holding me back. Although it felt good to see him, I was confused. Why was he stopping me from going to my friend? Hadn't it been he who'd told me to take good care of all my friends?

I opened my mouth to ask him what was going on when Louis suddenly screamed in pain and fell to his knees. I tried to run toward him but again, Adrian blocked my way. I heard a loud ripping sound and turned my head to look around Adrian's back. I gasped.

There, at the place where Louis had been standing a second ago, was a giant wolf now, baring its razor-sharp teeth. It growled, crouching down to prepare for an attack.

Adrian did the same. "Chloe, run!" he shouted, before the wolf jumped to lung for his throat the next blink.

I screamed.

"Chloe? Chloe! Wake up!"

My eyes flashed open but I needed a moment to focus to notice Adrian hovering above me, his face filled with concern. I reached out to wrap my arms around his neck automatically and he encircled me with his strong arms in response. I was panting for air.

"Shh… Calm down, Chloe. All is fine," he soothed and I felt how my limbs relaxed, my eyes were falling shut again. "I'm here… All is fine…"

I must've fallen asleep again. Adrian asked me about my dream in the morning, but I couldn't remember a single thing anymore. I just knew it had been a nightmare and that I was hugely horrified because of it.

My friends didn't come to visit me in the following three days. Adrian, Mom and Granny all assured me that they would be perfectly fine, so I assumed that they were just too busy with school (I didn't go to school now because Mom was still too worried about my health).

When they still didn't visit me an entire week later, I begged Mom to allow me go see my friends. If they didn't come to me, I'd go see them.

Mom agreed to let me go reluctantly, still hugely worried about my health. She insisted on accompanying me. It was just about the end of classes so we walked toward the school hoping to meet Chantal and the others on their way back.

Mom was holding my hand, I noticed that she made us walk unusually slowly and how she threw concerned glances at me every two minutes, probably assuming me collapsing and losing consciousness any moment. I felt guilty for making her being so anxious for me. I really was a cruel selfish person for causing Mom and Granny so much trouble. And Dad, did he know about the last months? If yes, then he, too, would be worried about me for sure. How could I have done this to them? I was the most terrible daughter and granddaughter, no matter what Adrian said. And Adrian, he, too, always got bothered by me. I was sure that my strange nightmares –which I never could remember in the morning–, were beginning to annoy him…

"Chloe?"

I woke up from my self-loathing by hearing Chantal's familiar voice. "Chantal!" I screamed in delight, freed my hand out of Mom's grip and run toward my best friend to take her in a tight hug. "I missed you."

Yes, I really had missed her. Seeing her here in front of me made me realize how much I had actually missed her, and –to my own surprise– how relieved I felt to see her with Fabienne and Claudine at her side.

But where were the others? Where was Janette? Where were the boys?

Then I finally noticed the sadness behind their surprised and smiling faces, the dark shadows of sleepless nights under their tired red eyes.

"Chantal," I breathed, my voice trembling so hard that I couldn't speak louder. "What happened?"

She looked at me for a very long moment. Her otherwise so energetic and sparkling eyes were dull and tired from tears and stress. What had happened to her? What had happened to my best friend Chantal d'Auvert who once could have made a vampire beg her for mercy?

"They are gone," she eventually answered, her voice was shaking even harder than mine was. "Antoine, Julien and Dominique. They didn't come back with Louis. They never came back."

* * *

"I shouldn't have allowed her to go." The words seemed to be coming from far away, or reaching me through water. "I knew it was a bad idea. How could I've been so careless?" The voice was familiar. It was becoming louder and louder.

"It's fine, _ma fille_." –a different voice, also familiar– "Stop blaming yourself. The whole village is talking about it. She would have found out sooner or later."

"I'd have preferred later," the first voice said bitterly. "And a little less sudden and emotional."

"You can't blame Chantal," the second voice soothed. "The poor child had just lost her beloved cousin and friends."

A heavy sigh. "I know. What is going on here? First Louis and now Antoine, Julien _and_ Dominique – all together! What is just happening?"

A long depressing pause followed, giving me time to think. Where was I? –I was lying on something soft, probably a bed, so I was at home in my room. And the two voices were Mother's and Granny's. Why was I here? The last thing I remembered was meeting Chantal, Fabienne and Claudine, all three of them unusually sad and worried…

"_Antoine, Julien and Dominique. They didn't come back with Louis. They never came back."__ Never came back… Gone…_

"And that poor girl Janette," Granny continued. "Is she still…?"

"Yes," Mom replied, she sounded tired, exhausted, stressed – older. "Her door is locked. Wouldn't let anyone in. Wouldn't eat. Wouldn't speak."

Janette? Right, she hadn't been with Chantal, Fabienne and Claudine. But why would she have locked herself up? Was it because of Julien? They were twins after all… But a feeling told me that this was not because of Julien. Not eating, not talking – this reminded me on something, someone…

"I just don't get it," Mom complained, sounding angry, confused and worried all at the same time. "Why are people disappearing? Why are those always children, older children, young adults? Why in the forest? What is going on?"

Granny sighed, she sounded suddenly very, very old. "I don't know, _ma fille_. I really don't know."

Antoine. Julien. Dominique. Louis. All their faces appeared in front of my inner eyes. Their kind smiles and their angry frowns, their sparkling eyes and their sad tears – all their expressions were so familiar to me as if they were my own. Missing, disappeared, gone to only God himself knew where.

But the worst part was that we couldn't be sure whether it was over or not. And a bad feeling inside me somehow sensed that it wasn't over – not soon.

I opened my eyes. Everything was covered by a layer of some kind of fog. I blinked to clear the view. Something smooth ran down my cheeks, leaving a cool trail on my skin. – I was crying.

"Chloe!" Mom cried, beginning to stroke my cheek immediately. "_Mon Dieu_, what's wrong, _chérie_? Does something hurt?"

I shook my head, afraid that my voice would betray me.

"Shh… all is fine, _ma chérie_," Granny soothed, sitting down at the edge of my bed and patting my hand. "They will come back," she added, guessing the reason for my sadness.

I wanted to believe her; I told myself that I'd believe her. But it didn't work. They weren't going to come back, never – I knew it, felt it…

"Oh, Chloe, don't cry," Mom almost pleaded, wiping my tears away from my cheeks; it was no use – new ones replaced them instantly. "Do you need something? Is there anything I can get you to feel better?"

I was already about to shook my head again, when I suddenly remembered what Mom and Granny had just talked about.

"_Her door is locked. Wouldn't let anyone in. Wouldn't eat. Wouldn't speak."_

"Janette," I whispered, my voice was hoarse and way too high. "I want to talk to Janette."

* * *

To say that Madame Rosette was surprised to see us in her doorway, when she opened the door after long time of knocking, would be an understatement.

"Oh, Chloe, _chérie_, this is a nice surprise," she greeted us. The smile that she forced upon her lips showed more than only laugh lines.

"I want to talk to Janette," I said straightforward.

Madame Rosette stared at me in astonishment and so did Mom and Granny. However, I was too determined, too concentrated on meeting Janette, to wonder about my sudden boldness myself.

"O-of course," Madame Rosette agreed after a few seconds, stepping aside to let us in. She sounded tired and resigned, but still a little bit hopeful – she was a mother, if she lost faith in her daughter, all would. Suddenly I noticed what kind of hard job it was to be a mother…

I went upstairs while the three women took place in the kitchen for a cup of tea. The door to Janette's room was locked; I could tell that without even touching the doorknob. It was dark in the hallway and I could see that it was dark in Janette's room, too, because there was no light coming from the narrow clearance between door and floor. She had probably pulled the curtains shut. I couldn't remember whether I'd closed the curtains in my room that time, too. Maybe the darkness of forgetting had found me quicker than Janette now and she was trying to make it speed up…

I took a deep breath and knocked. "Janette?" I spoke quietly; I somehow knew that she could hear me. "It's me, Chloe."

No response.

"I know that you don't want to talk and I won't force you to talk either. I just want you to listen to me." I paused, taking another deep breath. "It's Antoine, isn't it?"

Silence.

"You miss him, more than all of us put together, don't you? It's like a hole punched into your chest, growing bigger and bigger, taking your breath away. It feels like everything is about to fall apart. But it's not important anymore. Nothing is important. You start hoping that it will finally fall apart –the ceiling, the house, the entire world– crashing down on you so all will eventually come to an end. The worries, the sadness, the pain."

I stopped when I heard a quiet whimper through the door, but then it was silent again. Maybe it was just my imagination…

"I'm sure you'll tell me that I have no idea what I am talking about, but trust me, I do." –I took another shaky breath– "I really do. Better than I wished, I would. And I'm sure that you, too, would rather prefer to live without this experience."

Another whimper – this was not my imagination.

"Janette, don't! Do you hear me? Don't give up – you _must not_ give up!" I said urgently, pressing my hands against the cold wooden door. "I know how the world appears to you in this very moment. Cold, empty, dark, senseless. It seems so unfair – it is unfair. But it doesn't have to stay like this forever. It will change; it will become better again. Lighter, warmer, worth living. Just don't give up. He will come back. You have to have faith in him."

I turned on my heels and walked away. Before I reached the steps, I heard a third quiet but still heartbreaking whimper. It sounded like "Antoine".

The next morning I heard that the fifth person was missing. Janette had taken my advices too literately and had sneaked out of her room into the forest at night.

She was gone.

And it was my fault.

* * *

_and again I'm soooooooooooooo~~ sorry for taking soo long!!! X___X *how I hate classtests!!* XDD_

_pew... this story is really beginning to come to an end ^^ Yay!! *party! (preparing)* XD but still sooo~~ much to write.... How am I supposed to bring THAT in?? °~° -it will work out... somehow.... XD_

_don't forget to review! ;)_

_-Mulan-_

_**PS. I wish all of you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!! ^o^**_


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter24 –****Helpless–**

"It's my fault."

"No, Chloe, it is not."

"It's my fault – all my fault."

"Chloe, please, stop. None of this is your fault."

"Yes, it is! Janette is gone because of my encouragements. Antoine, Julien and Dominique are gone because I overreacted that day. And Louis is gone because I wasn't observant enough. I should have taken better care of them – they are my friends after all!"

"Chloe, please-"

"All my fault. I'm such a terrible person. I haven't deserved any of this. I haven't deserved anything. I haven't deserved to live! I haven't deserved-"

Adrian interrupted my self-loathing-aria by pulling me into his arms and pressing my face against his cool chest. "Enough," he growled resolutely.

I closed my eyes, concentrating on his wonderful intoxicating aroma. It felt good, having his cool strong arms around me. – I didn't deserve this…

It had been two days now since Janette was gone, a month since Antoine, Julien and Dominique had left, two months since Louis had suddenly disappeared. Today was Christmas Eve, my first Christmas with Adrian and my first Christmas without my friends. I really couldn't figure out whether I should be happy or sad.

When Adrian had greeted me with a "Merry Christmas" and the most gorgeous smile this morning, I had burst out in tears but I couldn't tell if those were joyful or desperate tears. After calming down I had gone downstairs for breakfast with Mom and Granny and to my utter surprise they had been sitting at the kitchen table together with a third person. Father had arrived home late last night to celebrate Christmas together with his family. He had brought tons of wonderful presents for me again. Among those was an angelic white dress which he wanted me to put on instantly to "have an angel in his house on Christmas" as he had said it.

I'd obeyed like the good daughter I wanted to be. But when I had put the dreamlike dress on and had seen my reflection in the window glass, I had broken together.

I hadn't deserved this.

Granny and my parents had rushed upstairs asking me what was wrong. Dad apologized again and again for forcing me to wear a dress that I didn't like. At his words I had cried even more.

How could I do this to him? How could I do this to all of them?

I hadn't deserved this, I so hadn't deserved all of their love.

They had left me alone eventually. Mom and Granny persuading Dad that I would need some time alone. But I wasn't alone for very long. The second the sound of their steps had faded away, Adrian had appeared in my room, stroking my hair soothingly.

I didn't deserve this – nothing.

"You're too good, for me," I said between sobs. "You've deserved someone so much better than me."

"Nonsense," he objected, pulling back and lifting my chin with a hand to make me look into his eyes. "Do never say anything like that again."

"But it's true."

"No, it is not." His eyes were hard when he said this but then they melted to liquid gold, soft and warm. "Chloe," he said slowly, his velvet voice and his sweet breath lulled me like a light summer breeze. I fought back a moan. "Chloe, you are the best thing that had ever crossed my way in all those decades that I had live – no passed. I hadn't lived before meeting you, because you are my life. My life had started the moment I laid my eyes on you for the first time. I love you and I will never leave your side, except for you ordering me to. Even then I don't know whether I'd be able to absolutely leave you…"

He trailed off, closing his eyes, his browns pulled into a deep frown as if he was concentrating on a difficult exercise. He kept like that for a few seconds then his eyes flashed open as if he'd just woken up from a terrible nightmare – he was even gasping!

"No, won't leave," he muttered, so quiet that I wasn't sure whether he was talking to me or to himself. "Won't leave. Never."

Chantal, Fabienne and Claudine came visiting me in the afternoon. It broke my heart to see them entering the house and then discovering that only the three of them were here, no other smiling faces following behind.

Claudine was unusually nervous. She was biting her nails, chewing on her lower lip or tapping impatiently with her foot on the ground every time when she wasn't completely involved in the talk or game. Fabienne tried everything to ease the tension, though there actually was none. She was over the top excited, babbling too much and too fast.

But it was Chantal, who worried me the most. The lively sparkle was back in her eyes again. She looked determined, resolute, strong – all the characteristics that I had always known and loved about her. But today was different. Today the proud and fierce gleam in her chestnut-brown eyes didn't impress me but scare me. She was up to something and I could tell that I didn't like it even without knowing what exactly she was plotting.

It was in the late afternoon and I went into the kitchen to get something to eat for the four of us. Fabienne offered to help me. I put the water on the oven to make more tea and opened the cupboard, looking for some cookies Mom and Granny had made. After putting everything on a tablet I turned around, founding Fabienne standing in the doorway, her fingers fidgeting nervously.

"Fabienne," I worried. "You look pale. Is something wrong?"

"Um… well… actually…" She threw an anxious glance over her shoulder as if she was scared that someone dangerous was standing behind her.

"Fabienne?" I wondered, putting the tablet back on the table.

She closed the door silently, then she turned back to me. Her eyes were big with fear, her teeth biting down on her lower lip dangerously hard. She nodded.

I rushed to her side and pulled her toward the kitchen table to sit down before she would collapse right in front of me out of whatever kind of reason. She relaxed a little bit after I sat down next to her and took her hands in mine. She was sweating bullets!

"Chloe, you have to do something," she pleaded quietly but still urgently. "Chantal is determined to do this and Claudine is much too willing to accompany her."

I blinked in irritation. "W-what do you mean? What do they want to do?"

"The forest," Fabienne whispered so quietly that I had to read it from her lips. "They want to go into the forest and look for the others."

"What?!" I screamed, jumping to my feet.

Fabienne winced. "Shh!" she ordered, her head spun toward the door but it stayed closed.

"No," I breathed after Fabienne had pulled me back down on the chair. Suddenly my hands were in hers, they were shaking. "No, they can't, the _mustn't_. They must not go into the forest. _Never_."

"I know," Fabienne agreed. "And I told them, but they wouldn't listen. –Chloe!" –she grabbed my shoulders firmly so I had to look into her eyes– "You _have_ to do something. Please! I don't want to lose them, too."

My brain run at full speed but all I could think of was the dark forest opening its mouth, swallowing my precious friends one by one. They were screaming in agony.

I shook my head to clear my mind from those terrible thoughts. "B-but what could I do?" I demanded, my voice was a few octaves too high with fear and despair. "What could I do that you haven't tried already? I'm sure you've spent hours on changing their minds. Besides, you know Chantal. _Nothing_ can stop her if she'd decided on something."

Her hands fell from my shoulders and so did her eyes. "Yes, you're right," she said, her voice sounded somehow flat and lifeless. "Nothing will stop them." She got up and walked to the door, slowly, all kind of power had left her.

A bad foreshadow came to my mind. "Fabienne!" I called her, jumping to my feet again. "You won't go with them, will you?"

She paused, her hand only inches away from the doorknob. "First Louis," she replied calmly after a long moment of tense silence. "Then Antoine, Julien and Dominique. And now Janette," she paused. When she continued her voice was resolute and strong. "I can't lose Chantal and Claudine, too. I couldn't survive it." –she turned around to face me, a sad smile decorating her lips– "Could you?"

And then she disappeared through the door, leaving me behind, alone and absolutely helpless.

* * *

_First of all:_

_MERRY CHRISTMAS & HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! ^o^_

_yeah... I know the Christmas-thing is kinda late - but better late than never! XD besides, Christmas plays a (tiny little) role in this chap, too, soo.. it's not too late! XD_

_school had started again - ugh........ T.T can't be helped.... ^^_

_I'll try to update the next chap as soon as possible (stress on "possible" XD) - I already know what to write which is kinda sth. rare recently.... ^^ ...hmm... I guess I've to think about it whether the following chaps, that I've planned, are suited for "T"... ^^ (uhhhh~~ what is that crazy girl plotting again?! XDD)_

_-Please start the new year with lots of REVIEWS!! ^^_

_-Mulan-_


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter25 –The Only Way–**

On the day of our school enrollment, we had sat together under the great oak-tree on the school ground and had taken each other's hand, promising to always stay friends, no matter what happened, we wouldn't fall apart, forever and ever and ever.

We – that were I, Chantal, Janette, Antoine, Julien, Fabienne, Dominique, Claudine and Louis.

Now it was only me. Five had left and three were about to go.

After the talk with Fabienne, she, Chantal and Claudine had suddenly left. They had just said goodbye to my parents and Granny with the excuse to be needed at home for Christmas. They didn't even tell me.

"_I couldn't survive this, could you?"_

I bit my lip, bit it hard. But I could feel the pain. Not a nightmare from which I could wake up, it was real.

"Chloe, don't. You will hurt yourself." Adrian put finger on my lip, massaging it gently until my teeth backed off.

I buried my face into his chest, hiding from something that I didn't even know. He pulled me on his lap, stroking my head down to my back in a slow calming pace.

The seconds ticked by and every time when one passed by I wondered where Chantal, Claudine and Fabienne were at the very moment.

"_I couldn't survive this, could you?"_

"Don't worry, love. All will be fine," Adrian tried to reassure me, but it didn't work. Instead, it just broke the wall inside of me and the words streamed out like water that had been collected behind a dike before.

"No, nothing is going to be fine – _nothing_! Janette is gone for two days; Antoine, Julien and Dominique for a month and Louis already for two months – _two_ _months_! I don't know where they are, _nobody_ knows where they are – even you couldn't find them. They could be _anywhere_, deep in the dark snowy forest, freezing, hungry, scared –no, _terrified_– and no idea how to go home. How can I not be worried now?"

"Chloe-"

"And Chantal, Claudine and Fabienne are leaving, too. Maybe they are just entering the forest at this very moment to look for our friends who are Heaven knows where! And I'm sitting here, in my save warm room, doing nothing but waiting to lose the last ones of my precious friends!"

"It's not your fault. There's nothing you can do," he tried to comfort me. But it was a lie. There was something I could do, something very useful perhaps. I could send Adrian to take care of them; I could spare him for one night to save the last three of my friends. But I couldn't, I couldn't let go of him, I simply couldn't say the rescuing words.

Instead, I snuggled closer to him and I hated myself for being so egoistic. "I don't want to lose them, I can't lose them – I couldn't survive this," I quoted Fabienne. "It's so cold outside and it's dark. They will get lost or meet one of those Grey Wolves about which Granny always keeps telling us about. They will get hurt or… or _worse_!" My whole body begun to shake uncontrollably when I came to the worst outcome possible. Maybe they were already gone, all of them, completely gone, out of my reach forever. "They will die," I breathed, so quietly that I barely heard myself. "They are dead."

"No, Chloe."

"Antoine, Janette, Dominique, Louis, Julien."

"I'm sure they are fine," he assured me, but I didn't believe him. I had noticed a slight twitch in his eyes when I had mentioned one name.

"Julien," I whispered, panic overflowing me.

"No, Chloe, all is fine," he tried to convince me, but I could see the lie in his eyes. I knew him well enough now.

"What happened to him?" I demanded.

"Nothing," he kept stubborn.

I sat up, looking directly into his golden eyes, those which had already seen so much pain. "Adrian, tell me," I pleaded. "I need to know."

He stared back at me for a long moment, then his eyes shifted away, looking pass me into the distance. "I found him," he answered finally in a whisper; his voice was hoarse and filled with pain.

"When?" I prompted just as quietly as he did.

"Three weeks ago."

I gasped. "_Three_ weeks?"

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just couldn't bear seeing you been hurt again," he explained.

"Where?" I went on demanding.

He sighed. "In the forest, it wasn't near the village. They had come quiet far."

I nodded. "How?"

"I was hunting and-"

"No," I cut him off. "I mean, how did he look like? How did he die?"

"Chloe, I don't think that you should know this," he reasoned, watching me hugely worried.

I swallowed. So bad? "Tell me," I insisted.

Again, he looked at me for a long silent moment, his eyes held so much pain and concern. Then he put his arms around me. I let him pull me back on his lap, resting my head against his shoulder and looking up at him expectant and scared.

"It was not a natural death," he begun in a low voice, watching my reactions while he spoke. I suppressed a shudder and tried to be as composed as possible. "I don't think that it was an animal or… one of my kind – no blood."

I swallowed and nodded when he waited for me to react in someway.

"I guess someone or some_thing_ had thrown him against a tree trunk and this had broken his neck. There were marks on the tree at which's roots he was lying."

This time I couldn't hold it back. I winced. Thrown against a tree trunk. It must have been very hard if it had even left marks. _Oh my God, Julien!_

"It went fast," Adrian tried to comfort me. "He didn't have to suffer any pain."

I nodded. Julien. Calm, silent, wise Julien. He had always been there for me if I had needed help without me even noticing.

"_I'm not a doctor or scientist or whoever works with human problems. I just want to inform you so you can think about it on your own, maybe you'll be able to clear everything after thinking about it properly."_

I remembered the rare times when he'd smiled and even rarer times when he'd talked. His voice had been so warm and gentle, so full of concern and love.

"_Chloe, I wasn't forcing you to do something when I talked to you on your birthday. Thinking about yourself isn't homework you've to finish n__ext Monday. It's a routine task everyone should do once a while."_

He had been a great person, one of the most intelligent person I'd known. A young man with family and friends, future and dreams.

"_I don't know how, don't know why – and I won't ask for any explanations either. What I can see is that the product of this turn is your happiness. And as long as you're happy everything is fine."_

When I was older, I had often tried to picture the girl that would catch his attention and break through the silence around him. Now she wouldn't even get a chance to try, never.

Something cool and wet dropped on my hand and I noticed that I was crying.

"I'm so sorry, Chloe," Adrian shared his compassion with me, drying my tears with feather light kisses.

"You have to go," I said between the sobs. "You have to make sure that Chantal, Claudine and Fabienne will come back home fine."

His eyes widened slightly as if in panic but I couldn't be sure because he was back to normal a blink later. "Are you sure?" he wondered. "What will be about you?"

I felt my heart tightened in protest but I ordered it to shut up and listen to my mind, this was important – vitally important. I could live through a night without Adrian – I had to, it was the only way. "I will be fine," I promised, forcing a smile on my face. "You must go and keep an eye on my friends. Who knows what will happen when Chantal is fully into it." I chuckled, it sounded hysterical even in my own ears.

He watched me with skeptical golden eyes. "Are you sure?" he checked again.

I nodded and when I recognized that this wasn't enough for him I added: "Adrian, they are my friends, the last three of my beloved friends. I can't lose them, either. Do you understand?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. "Yes, I know. It's just that… I… you…" He shook his head, lost at words.

I took his face in my hands; his smooth pale cheeks were hard and as cold as ice. "Adrian," I called and he opened his eyes. They were so warm, overflowing with different emotions – anxiety, concern, fear, pain, but most of all, love. "Please." –it was harder to say this one single word than I'd ever imagined– "I will stay here in this save warm room and not going anywhere. Nothing will happen to me. You just make sure that my friends return home without any harm but a cold perhaps, and then come back to my side as soon as possible. Okay?"

He didn't respond, at least not in a audible way. Instead, he just took my face in his hands –as I was doing with his– and pulled me up to his face so my lips would join him in a burning hot kiss. I blinked in astonishment first, but then my mind switched itself off and my body took complete control over me. My hands slid from his smooth cheeks up in his silk soft hair, bringing him even closer to me. Our lips molded together, melting to one. I moaned in surprise and delight when I felt his ice cold tongue pressing against my lips, asking for entrance, which I granted him much too eagerly.

I couldn't even start to describe how it felt, how his cool sweet tongue danced with mine; how his moans sang in my ears and how his intoxicating breath became one with mine. There were simply no words for this. Too wonderful, too miraculous, too good.

I didn't want him to go, I wanted him to stay here with me and kissing me like this forever.

But I knew that that was not possible, not now. He seemed to remember this fact, too, and pulled away – much too soon for my taste of course. We were both struggling with breath. "I will be back in no time, promise," I heard him whisper, his cool breath trickling the sensitive skin at my ear. Then I felt a slight breeze washing over my face and when I looked up, he was gone.

"I love you," I whispered back and I thought that I had heard his answering sigh.

* * *

_woa! this one was **FAST!!** I guess having a plan helps... XD_

_hmm.... I kinda like this chap - especially the end ^^ hmm..... sooo~~~ HOT! I kinda envy Chloe! XDD Who else, too?? :D_

_okay.... from now on it's gonna be... BAD - real bad.... Julien's death is **NOTHING** compared to what's going to come!! Muhahaha!! XDDD_

_oh, right, I wanted to tell you why Julien died: I made him die because I liked him sooo~~ much ^////^ and there was no other option but to "kill" him exept for-_

_**oops!** I'm not supposed to say this now ^^ hmm.... you have to wait for at least another chap I guess ^^ hehehe *evil* XDD_

_**and don't forget to REVIEW!! ^^ -thx!**_

_-Mulan-_


	27. Chapter 26

**Chapter26 –Full Moon–**

It was dark in the room, so unbelievably dark. So silent, so lifeless, so empty, so cold.

It was strange, that last point. Adrian's skin was as warm as a bucket of ice actually, but I still felt cold without him, ice-cold – no, even colder than that.

I pulled my knees up to my chin and wrapped my arms around my legs, shrinking to a ball, trying to make myself as small as possible in order to protect myself from–

From what?

I was here, in my room, in my house together with Granny, Mom and Dad who would all rush to my rescue if necessary.

It wouldn't be even necessary. There was no danger here. The danger was outside, in the forest with Chantal, Fabienne and Claudine.

And Adrian.

I shuddered, maybe from the cold. My hands tightened, gripping harder onto my arms and legs.

_Nothing will happen to him,_ I reminded myself. _He will be fine. He can take care of himself. He's a vampire after all, for crying out loud!_

But the fear wouldn't go, wouldn't leave me alone. It stuck to me like glue. I hated it, and it seemed to love me in return.

"Adrian. Please come back to me. _Quick_," I pleaded, before sleep pulled me down to unconsciousness.

_The trees were black and so was the sky. The bright white snow formed a terribly clear contrast against general blackness and so was the full moon. It stared down at me like a giant eye, an eye without iris and without pupil. It looked right through me, stung me with its gaze like thousands of tiny sharp needles. It followed me while I ran._

_I didn't know why I was running. I just felt that I _had to_ run, that I mustn't be late for– something._

_I reached the meadow, covered in knee-high snow. But I didn't feel cold. All I felt was fear, nothing but fear._

_There was a strange empty circle in the middle of the meadow. It was black, of course, but within the black was something white and small and rectangular. I walked toward it and kneed down to have a closer look._

_I gasped when I recognized the tiny crosswise crack on the cool smooth glass._

_It was my mirror – Adrian's mirror. What was it doing here? And where was Adrian?_

"_Gone."_

_I gasped and backed away in surprise and panic. It was talking – __the mirror was talking!_

_The little silver rectangular suddenly floated towards me on its own, stopping right in front of my face._

_Instead of my reflection like it was supposed to show, it showed one single eye, staring at me as intensely as the moon and it was as grey as the moonlight._

"_He's gone," the eye told me in a low dangerous voice; it echoed in my head and it hurt. "They are all gone. Never coming back."_

_Something thick and liquid began to ooze out of the crack and dropped on my skin._

_It was blood._

"_Never."_

My eyes flashed open, I was gasping for air and my limbs felt hard and soar, bathed in cold sweat. The angelic white dress Daddy had given me stuck to me like a second skin, an uncomfortable second skin. I had forgotten to change because of all the stress.

Without me ordering them to –my brain was much too worked up to be able to do anything at all– my eyes flew toward the window. It was shut and my room was empty.

I guess, I had jumped out of my bed, had ran down the stairs and through the front door, out into the ice-cold nightfall.

I guess, I don't know, I can't remember it.

The next thing I knew was that I was in the forest, wading knee-high snow, barefoot. My mind didn't work properly anymore. I was only capable of thinking one thing, one word, one name.

_Adrian_.

By the time I had reached the meadow, I couldn't feel my toes anymore. But I didn't feel pain, only relief. The meadow was completely covered by a thick layer of snow. No big black hole with a talking silver mirror on top of it.

I was so relieved, so happy that Adrian was fine, that I fell to my knees and started to cry. "Adrian… Thank God… oh, Adrian… Adrian…"

Slowly the panic left, making space for the cold and the pain in my legs. I got up, holding onto a tree to steady myself. My dress was soaked and covered with snow. I was shivering all over my body. Adrian wouldn't be pleased when I caught a cold because of this. I was so happy that I even giggled about this.

Suddenly there was a noise –a silent rustle– on the other side of the meadow.

Oops, had I been caught so quickly?

But it wasn't Adrian who stepped out of the dark, it was a boy who was wearing shabby clothes which were much too big on his slim body.

"Louis!" I screamed in delight. "Oh, God, I found you! Where have you been? Are you fine? We've all been worried sick because of you!"

He didn't respond to me. He didn't even look at my way. Instead, he stared up at the sky where the last sunrays disappeared behind the mountains, leaving the world in complete darkness – except for the perfectly white full moon.

There was a sound, a scream of total agony. My eyes flashed back to Louis. He was gripping his head, pulling at his hair as if he was intending on ripping them all out of his head.

"Louis!" I screamed again, this time in alarm.

He fell on his knees, his hands catching his body before it dropped into the snow. I ran toward him, desperate and helpless by seeing him suffer.

I didn't get much closer –just a few steps because of the snow blocking my way– when Louis' clothes suddenly burst open and instead of my precious friend, a giant dark brown wolf was standing in front of me.

_W-what was happening?!_

The wolf raised its head up to the moon and howled long loud and full with pain. Other howls joined in, they seemed to be coming from everywhere, echoing in the air. A song of agony.

Then, when it had finished the wolf looked down, right into my eyes. It growled… in satisfaction?

_Run! _My brain suddenly woke up and shouted at me. _Run! Now!_

But I couldn't move, my legs were frozen, my entire body was frozen. I couldn't even blink or breathe!

_Run!_

The wolf jumped, its razor-sharp teeth flashed in the bright white light of the full moon.

* * *

_yeah! now it's getting started!! XDD_

_hmm.... Sylvia was kinda right: **This story IS becoming scarier and scarier with each chap**!! XDD wasn't my intention.... (or at least I think so... ^^ hehe)_

_the next chap is gonna be **GREAT and LONG**!! I can feel it!! XDD (she's gotta plan!! -Yay! ^o^) but this also means that I'll need some time to write it... ^^ -please be patient! (actually I don't need to tell you, you always are so virtually patient! ^^)_

_**don't forget to review!! ^^**_

_-Mulan-_


	28. Chapter 27

**Chapter27 –Death–**

I had never seen a wolf before –not in reality at least–, but I could tell that they usually weren't that big. It was _huge_, as tall as a horse, maybe even taller than a horse! Its dark-brown fur shined in the silver moonlight, it seemed to be warm and soft. And I couldn't deny that it was kind of beautiful, when it jumped to long for my throat.

Wind arose –a breeze–, coming from my right side. It hit the wolf's flanks, knocked it away towards a giant tree where it crashed with a painful whimper against the wood.

My brain had stopped functioning again and my eyes were too slow to follow the happenings in front of me. Suddenly I was flying, ice-cold wind wiped against my face, combed through my hair and pulled at my dress. I looked up, blinking against the wind and– stunned.

"Adrian?"

" 'I will be fine,' she says," he snorted, his expression sour and angry, his eyes centered straight forward while running at inhuman speed through the woods. " 'I will stay in my room,' she swears. 'I'm not going anywhere.'"

"I'm sorry," I apologized sheepishly. "I was just so worried about you-"

"Do you know how worried _I_ was when I suddenly smelled clover in the middle of a snowy forest?" he cut me off. I had never heard him so panicked before. "Do you know in what kind of _danger_ you are now?"

Danger – that word rang a bell. "Louis," I remembered. "Oh my God, Louis!"

"We can't help him anymore," he replied bitterly, still running.

"Why?" I demanded, reluctant to except what Adrian was telling me. "What-"

"Werewolves."

Just then, an earsplitting howl cut through the air and something hard and heavy crashed into Adrian, throwing us apart. I landed on the ground; the soft cold snow caught my fall. I got up just in time to see two giant wolves launching themselves at Adrian.

However, before I could scream to warn him, he had already turned around, facing them with fury. He hit them with his bare hands; hit them hard according to their whimpers. They flew against nearby tree-trunks, leaving deep marks in the wood. Thereby his movements didn't even look like attacks, at least the parts I could see. It looked more like a dance, his body moved so swiftly, so fast and sure as if he had spent a lot of time to master this piece of art with perfection.

Only a second later, the wolves had already recovered from their crush, got up and jumped back into the "dance". They were fast –all three of them–, so fast that my plain human eyes could only make out blurs of brown, black and white. Though my eyes couldn't follow the happenings in front of me, my ears could – at least to a certain extent.

I heard howls of pain and growls of fury, but I couldn't tell whether the second noise was only made by the wolves.

"Chloe!" Adrian called me out my daze after what seemed like hours but were probably only seconds in reality. "Run!"

I didn't move, I couldn't move, I couldn't leave him here alone!

Then a third wolf jumped out of the dark. Instead of helping the other two with Adrian, it directly went for me. I didn't scream, my breath was caught in my throat. Adrian must have sensed the new danger despite his two opponents. He growled –threatening, dangerous, vampire-like– and jumped, catching the wolf midair. They crashed against hard wood, the giant old tree shook at the impact.

"Run!" he bellowed again and this time I obeyed, because I realized that I'd be the complete opposite of help for him if I stayed.

I ran, the many snow wasn't helping me to go faster. I didn't know where I was heading at –I had lost all kind of orientation the moment Adrian took off with me–, I just hoped that it was the way home or at least not directly into a mouth full with razor-sharp teeth.

The surreal white full moon, watched me, followed me, chased me. I tried to ignore it, told myself that it was just the moon, a giant rock, spinning around the earth, miles away from me, not able to touch or even hurt me.

I couldn't persuade myself. Not after seeing what had happened to Louis.

Werewolves. Not Grey Wolves but _werewolves_. And there were at least four of them. We were five, but only Adrian could fight and Chantal, Claudine and Fabienne were Heaven knew where.

A shrill sound cut through the air, a scream of panic, a call for help. I stopped.

_Chantal!_

All warnings forgotten –both Adrian's and those from my head–, I spun around and ran toward the opposite direction where the scream had come form, deeper into the forest.

Thinking back, I couldn't tell where the sudden strength had appeared out of, the determination and fearlessness to save my friends. It was clear that the wolves had found them and it was clear that there was nothing I could do.

In contrary to all kind of logic I kept running. I didn't turn around to hide which was definitely the more intelligent choice in this situation. Everyone would have answered the question whether to run for dear life or not, if a pack of giant werewolves was chasing one, with a quick loud "Yes!". But I couldn't say "yes", I couldn't turn on my heels and run back home where it was warm and save. I couldn't, not with my friends left behind – it was _wrong_.

I discovered tracks in the snow after some time. They were small human tracks about my size. I counted three lines of those, three pairs of feet. –The girls!

I followed these tracks. They grew narrower and narrower with each single step, as if they had huddled together to warm each other or to hide form some kind of danger.

I went on and on, walking deeper and deeper into the darkness. The cold of the snow numbed my feet and legs, fingers and hands. I could see my own breath; it hung in the air like a tiny cloud before it disappeared into nothing the next blink.

I can't remember how I had felt exactly while following my friends' steps through the thick snow. I was scared, yes, but not for myself. I was scared for Chantal, Claudine and Fabienne. The idea of something might hurt or worse happen to the last three of my precious friends scared me – scared me to death.

And the fear grew. And the track stopped. They just stopped but that wasn't what made my eyes widen in panic. The track stopped in the middle of chaos. The perfectly smooth surface of the layer of snow here was broken – no, _destroyed_. Deep long cuts and fosses covered the whole place as if someone had danced wildly in the snow. Of fought. I wished it was a dance, I _wanted_ it to be a dance, wanted it so much. But I knew it wasn't. The dark red dyeing in the bright white snow told a story itself. And the story was undeniable. It was the picture of violence and within all this chaos, I found the big deep footprints of wolves together with a small slender figure lying in a bed made up of red snow.

My mind cried "No, don't go nearer!" but my body didn't listen. Before I noticed, I was already standing at the unmoving person and stared down at her big empty eyes.

It was Fabienne.

_Oh. _It was a short and simple sound but it still sent a shiver down my spine. I spun around, but there was no one. _Hello,_ the voice continued; it sounded amused. _Did you lose your way home, little girl?_

I didn't respond. The voice scared me. I couldn't tell where it came from. It seemed to come from everywhere and then again from nowhere.

_You smell strangely,_ the voice commented and made a disgusted noise. _Like one of those filthy bloodsuckers._

I spun around myself, my head turning so fast from one direction to the other that I almost lost my balance and tripped over Fabienne's lifeless body. I bit my lip to suppress a cry of horror.

_But you are not one of them, _the bodiless voice stated in a hugely interesting tone. _I can hear your heart beating. I wonder…_

"Who are you?" It wasn't louder than a whisper –only a high hoarse fearful squeak–, but the scary voice heard it anyhow.

_Who I am?_ The voice sounded amused again. _Oh, don't worry, little girl. You will understand everything in time. But first…_ The voice trailed off, leaving the unfinished sentence hanging in the air. It crept deep into me –into my bones–, causing me to shiver even harder than the cold had already made me before.

It hurt, this fear.

I hadn't heard anyone moving, I hadn't heard anything at all. Suddenly he was behind me. I knew it because my subconscious told me, I felt him, and then I could smell him. It was the metallic smell of blood. I didn't move. It was no use. I wouldn't be able to race a werewolf.

I didn't know why but I expected razor sharp teeth sinking into my throat, and maybe that was his plan, too. But then he changed his mind when a deep furry snarl cut through the air only inches away. He hit me with sharp claws instead, I felt them digging deep into my back, touching my ribs, cutting off my air to breathe. The impact was so hard that it sent me flying. I crashed against a tree. I couldn't stop it, I only had enough time to close my eyes, then I felt a sharp pain at my head, and when I landed in the cool snow I felt something warm and liquid running down my temple.

_Here you are. At last._ I heard the scary voice said in triumph.

A loud angry growl responded. It didn't frighten me. It sounded angry and dangerous but there was also something else within it. Anxiety, fear, pain.

Then sounds of a grim fight filled the air. Growls, snarls, howls. The noise hurt my head but I couldn't make myself to get up and tell them to stop. I could barely breathe. I didn't know which parts of my body were all damaged, I could only guess that it was a lot.

Suddenly there was the sound a heavy crash –one more hundred-year-old tree was felled again, I guess–, and then I felt strong arms –colder than the snow– wrapping around me and I was flying again. But it was not a painful flight, I felt good, free, save. I tried to open my eyes but I couldn't make my lids move. They were too heavy, my chest was too heavy, it made breathing so difficult... maybe I could simply stop…

"No, Chloe," the most beautiful commanded. An angel? "Breathe. Don't give up. _I_ won't give up."

And I obeyed though it hurt a lot.

A few heavy breaths later the flight stopped. I knew it because I couldn't feel the icy wind anymore. And it was darker and a little warmer than before, was I in a house? I was laid down on hard cold stone –not a house, a cave– but the cool hands that had carried me before didn't leave my skin to my relief.

The hands lingered at my chest for a while, then went to my head, my legs and arms. "Damn." Angels could curse? "All broken… too many injuries, lung is cut," he muttered, quick and panicked. "Too much… can't heal them all… no… _no_." Did angels cry?

I wanted to sooth him, to lift my hand, touch him, and calm him. Angels shouldn't cry. But I couldn't, I was too exhausted, too tired and breathing was so hard…

"No! Chloe, don't! Don't go. _Please._" These words, they sounded so familiar. But I had never heard an angel begging. Wasn't that _my_ line? "I kept my promise. I am here. Now it's your turn. Don't leave, Chloe, don't leave me alone."

Promise? When had an angel promised me anything? I couldn't remember, it was so difficult to remember, to think at all…

"No!" It was only a whisper –a breath– but it felt like a scream. "No, Chloe, please, no!"

It hurt to hear the angel being in such pain. I wanted to lift my hand, to stroke his cheek, to sooth him, to apologize for this at least. But I couldn't, I could barely breathe.

I felt it, I felt life leaving me. I felt strength leave my limbs, felt air fly out of my lungs, felt my heart stop fighting, beating more and more slowly.

And the angel stayed at my side through all the time, sobbing, begging. He wouldn't give up.

Why? Wasn't he here to take me to the other world? Maybe angels always cry at this, it _was_ a hard job, I supposed. Watching someone die –may it old or young–, it had to hurt. And he was helpless, as helpless as I was. We couldn't do anything against it, neither one of us, although he was an angel. No one could stop death, stop fate.

"No," he said again, but it sounded different this time. Strong, hard, resolute. "No, Chloe. You won't leave me."

Of course, I wouldn't leave him. I was dying, he was my angel to lead me – how _could_ I leave? I didn't understand…

There was something at my neck –a hand–, pulling my hair back. I didn't feel the cold, but somehow I knew that the fingers caressing me were cold, ice-cold.

"I'm sorry." The angel's voice was suddenly louder, nearer, clearer. A cool breeze stroked my ear, soft, gentle, sweet.

And then there was pain.

And then I was in hell.

* * *

_hey there! ^^_

_I know... this took looooooooong! and I'm soooooooooo **sorry **about it! T.T_

_I was busy (I'm kinda always busy XD) I was writing a screenplay with some friends for a contest... I **TRIED **to write "Nightfall" alongside! but... if you've ever written a screenplay you'll understand ^^ -it's simply **IMPOSSIBLE**! T.T_

_well, well....... this is **the last but two chap **- almost finished!! ^^ *happy* I know... everything is kind of heading towards a **disaster**... I'm still working on a "happy ending" ;) Please be patient! XDD_

_**and don't forget to review**!! ^^_

_-Mulan-_


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter28 –Nightfall–**

I wasn't sleeping but I didn't open my eyes, either. I was scared to open my eyes and find myself in hell.

The burning had stopped, most of it at least. It had been over my whole body, from hair to fingertips and down to my toes. But now it had ceased, concentrating on my throat. It reminded me on that night when I had caught a cold after my walk in the rainy forest – the memory seemed so blurry, like something far away in mist. The only differences were that I wasn't lying in my bed and Adrian wasn't here to make the pain stop.

The thought of Adrian awoke a different kind of pain inside me, pushing the physical one into the background.

I was dead, I was in hell, I would never see him again, I was alone.

Sadness overtook me, it was so _strong_, stronger than I had ever experienced before. I wanted to cry, to let the tears wash the pain out of my body, out of my heart. It didn't work, the tears wouldn't come.

Couldn't you cry in hell? Not fair…

Then there was a sound, a melody, it was high but not shrill, quiet but not scared, quick but not panic. It was just the opposite.

There were _songbirds_ in hell?

I eventually plucked up all courage I had and blinked my eyes open.

It was dark but this was not something my eyes told me, it was rather a logical conclusion. It was always dark in a cave, wasn't it? Although it was dark –or, _supposed_ to be dark– I could make out each single edge and unevenness of rock above me. I believed that I could even could the tiny pin-sized porosities in the stone. And it wasn't grey, the rock. It was rather a mixture out of all the colors of the rainbow, shimmering at the filmy layer of ice.

It was as if I had never seen stone before. It was… _beautiful_.

There was a sound again, not songbirds this time. It was a rustling – branches. I couldn't tell how I could be sure that it were branches and not something else, I just… _knew_ it. Then there was a quiet howl, a sigh, getting louder – the wind, coming nearer. The next second I felt a soft breeze touching my skin, stroking my hair. It carried thousands –four-thousand-nine-hundred-seventy-one to be exact– of tiny white crystals. They were shaped like stars and each had a unique structure, individual pieces of art themselves.

Snowflakes.

I didn't tell my body to get up but suddenly I had climbed out of the small entrance and was standing outside. The sun was shining, enlightening the snowy forest in front of me. And I blinked. And then I just stared.

I had started wandering around after some time, absorbing my surroundings with my widely open eyes.

It was so _clear_. As if I had worn a veil all the years before that had befogged my view.

The tiny jags of a snowflake, the complicated structure of the bark of a tree, the little rainbows all the tiny water drops on the branches made. How could I have never noticed them before?

I don't know for how many hours I had been walking aimlessly in the snow, passing tree by tree, admiring my new view on the world.

I stopped eventually. But it wasn't the cold or exhaustion that stopped me –I felt neither one nor the other of them–, it was something else… a sound, a smell.

Then everything went fast, very fast. The beautiful landscape disappeared. There was only _that_ sound and _that_ smell. There was a shriek –a cry for help– and a crash, fur, warmth, heat. The whole scenario repeated again and again for about six or seven times.

In the end I sighed in relief, the pain in my throat had become better now. And then I opened my eyes. And then there was blood – everywhere.

In the following weeks, I barricaded myself in the cave, rolled up to a little ball and cowered in the furthest corner from the entrance. I only left my hideout when a poor animal ran pass me too near and my instincts took over me. After… _that_ I always returned to my "new home", depressed, sad and disappointed in myself.

It was during one of these "trips" I discovered that my skin glittered in the sun like a carpet of diamonds. That was something new.

New were also all the colorful strings around me. There were _hundreds_ of them, surrounding me, tying me – that was what it looked like. And they wouldn't go away, no matter what I did. And so I kept my eyes shut most of the time.

But I couldn't sleep. I had thought it was due to the stress at first, but then I remembered Adrian's words: "_I guess my body just doesn't need or can't use the recovery which sleep gives._"

Adrian. I thought a lot about him.

Where was he? How was he? When would he come back to me? Or – _if_ he was coming back at all.

I tried to avoid the last question as much as possible. _He _will_ come back. He _will_. He promised_, I chanted in my mid again and again, never stopping, _afraid_ of stopping.

About a month after my change, an unfortunate being came too near again. My instincts took over immediately, like a monster just counting down the minutes until its release.

I didn't notice anything, only that it tasted different this time… _better_.

When I had finished and opened my eyes and met a pair of empty ones, human ones.

I didn't take a closer look, I didn't dare to take a closer look. I didn't _want_ to recognize that person. I just turned on my heels and ran. The pair of green empty eyes followed me, chased me, haunted me.

I had killed, killed a human – and I had enjoyed it…

I broke together, fell on my knees and sank into the deep snow. It was not because of exhaustion, not physical one at least. It was too much, simply too much. I couldn't handle it any longer, not a second.

"Adrian," I whispered. It was the first word I had said for the last month. My voice sounded unusually high and clear, like bells. This realization –this change– made the sobs even stronger. "Adrian, where are you? I _need_ you; I need you so much…"

Again, the tears didn't come, and this fact made me feel even more miserable, more like a monster. I had killed a human and I couldn't even mourn about him or her.

Since I couldn't cry no matter how hard I tried –I even pressed my eyelids together, hard, but nothing came, not even pain–, I opened my eyes again and found myself in the meadow. The fresh snow from the last month couldn't cover the evidences of the fight.

Thick branches were broken, the snow-carpet broken –no, _destroyed_–, the empty tree trunk –our bench– was tossed several meters away from its former location. It was the picture of violence.

And in the middle of this chaos I found the well-known sweet scent of Adrian.

He had been here –no–, he _was_ here.

I paced around, fast, raising millions of tiny snowflakes. I didn't see their beauty, not now.

I stopped eventually after finding nothing in a fifty meters radius. He wasn't here. But I could _smell_ him.

Tears of despair would have stung my eyes – would… if I had been human which I wasn't, not anymore.

He _had_ to be here. I _needed_ him to be here!

Then I finally took a closer look on the ground and found it.

And then I realized that Adrian wouldn't come back, that he would never come back again.

Because he _couldn't_ come back anymore.

The silver mirror reflected the sky turning from purple to black, reflected the sun setting and the moon rising in its full glory.

In the distance, I heard the howl of wolves.

It was coming closer.


	30. Epilogue

Epilogue –Shooting Star–

"That night I killed four werewolves. Three of them were my friends."

It was silent in the room after Chloe had finished. Nobody moved. Nobody blinked. We were all staring at her, some with shock, some with compassion and some with both.

I hadn't known. I could never have imagined something like this. Now I knew why she was so reluctant to trust me, to believe in happiness at first.

Chloe tilted her head after looking down at her shaking hands for a long moment, meeting our gazes. She cleared her throat, which showed her embarrassment for gaining so much attention. "Um… do you have any further questions?"

Emmett coughed to hide his laughter. Some of the others smiled in amusement. –Leave it to Chloe to make a school report out of this.

"Actually," Jake began, lifting his hand as you did in school. "I have one."

Chloe nodded, waiting for his question.

"How did you find out that those 'colorful strings' you saw, were part of your gift?" he asked.

"When I fought against the wolves," she answered in a quiet, almost distant tone – lost in her memories again. "When I attacked one of them –it was the second largest one– another wolf jumped in my way. It was not just defending its companion – it was _protecting_ someone important. Then I saw the tie between them, the tie that lead from the wolf that sacrificed itself to rescue the other. It was so strong and pure, and it reminded me on the way Janette looked at Antoine. And then I understood."

Depressing silence filled the room again. I saw Jacob pressing his lips tightly together, probably regretting to have asked and pushing Chloe back into those dark memories.

I wasn't angry with him. He couldn't have known the truth. Nobody could. But it hurt to see her in pain like this. It hurt to see her hands shaking, her eyes empty and distant. She was biting her lip again and I was sure that she was trying to suppress the urge to scream in pain.

My arms tightened around her in reflex, pulling her toward me and out of her agony. It worked a little. I felt her relaxing a bit and leaning into my chest.

The others were all lost in their thoughts, staring into the distant or at the wall or floor – anywhere but at Chloe in order to ease her pain. Only Esme was looking at her, her eyes soft and sad. She couldn't look away, she was a mother after all.

Carlisle had his eyes closed, probably lost in his own memories, thinking about his old friend.

I couldn't tell whether I would've liked to meet this Adrian or not and I wondered what I would've done if Chloe decided on him instead of me in that situation. I had seen it with Edward, Bella and Jacob. The pain that all of them had carried with them during that time. I hoped that I would've done the right thing and let her go if he was the one who made her happy, but I was not sure. Therefore, I was glad that there had never been that question. It saved Chloe a lot of pain – this kind of pain at least…

"Carlisle," Chloe called, breaking the awkward silence. He opened his eyes in response. He looked tired and sad and suddenly very old. "Those wolves… I had the feeling that they were there because of Adrian," she said, her voice surprisingly calm. "Do you know anything about them?"

All heads turned toward Carlisle who was looking at Chloe with eyes in the color of liquid gold as if he was crying. "The Volturi have never feared anything. There was only once when one of them had almost been killed. That was Caius who met a werewolf." –he turned away, facing the window and the rain outside– "Therefore they started hunting the werewolves and killing them. They didn't care about age or whether they really were dangerous. It was like simply a way to show and expanse their power. During the few decades I stayed with them they had killed about two hundred werewolves." –he sighed as if speaking cost him a lot of effort– "I never went with the fighters who were sent but Adrian told me a lot about it – he was one of the frontline fighters."

Chloe went as stiff as a poker at that last sentence; her eyes were torn widely open.

"One night after they had returned from a fight that had lasted three nights –which is the maximum since the full moon only lasts for three days– Adrian told me that the fight had been surprisingly hard this time."

Everyone was facing Carlisle now, all except for Edward who was looking at Chloe, reading her inner reactions, I guessed.

"Werewolves are usually loners and so it was always easy for the Volturi to kill them, finding them was the harder task. But this time they weren't confronted with one but five werewolves at once."

Chloe was so still in my arms. I thought that she wasn't even breathing.

"It was a family. Parents with their three kids. One was killed very quickly, according to Adrian it had been the smallest and youngest one. It couldn't even speak in its wolf-form. Then one of the old ones –probably the mother– went wild and was killed very fast. While they fought the biggest one –the father– the remaining two children escaped. Later I heard the others saying that it had been Adrian who had killed the kid and its mother."

Chloe gasped as realization dawned on her. The two wolves she had met. One of them in that cold winter night and the other one here in Forks over one and a half century later. They had been children who had been seeking revenge for their family. Which they got. But by killing Adrian and using those innocent humans they hurt Chloe and awoke the need in her for revenge. And in the end they didn't gain anything but their own death and Chloe was suffering now.

"He had never wanted this, Chloe," Carlisle said gently after a while, facing her now. "Never. He hated it more than anything else. But he couldn't fight it. Especially not his natural need for blood. When I came to Volterra with my different way of life, he was fascinated and disgusted at the same time. Fascinated because he had finally found a way out of his conflict and disgusted because he wasn't strong enough to master his thirst. However, he was determined and so he left the Volturi and accompanied me to the New World. And there he finally achieved his goal because he had found a reason to do so."

"Shooting star," Chloe breathed.

Carlisle simply nodded in response but Chloe didn't see it, I guessed. She had turned away from him, from all of us, staring at the window with an empty face. The rain hammered against the glass in a steady rhythm like a heartbeat. I wondered whether the weather had been similar like today when she stormed into the forest to see Adrian.

Then, after an endlessly long moment of silence, she turned back toward us. A beautiful smile decorated her face. "And? Do you understand it now, Derick?"

He smiled back. "Yes," he replied. "Yes, now I understand your wish."

* * *

_*takin' a looooong breath*_

_! XDD it's fininshed __it's fininshed __it's fininshed __it's fininshed __it's fininshed __it's fininshed __it's fininshed __it's fininshed __it's fininshed __it's fininshed! *goin' all crazy* ^o^ PAAAAARTY!_

_*calmin' down*_

_I can't believe that "Nightfall" is finished now... *sob* it had taken soo long and sooo much hand-ache XD but it was all worth it I guess ^^_

_thx for everyone of you for accompanying me this entire time - and: sorry for always making you wait! ^^_

_well well... this story is finished... what do I do now? O.o hmmm... go living in a forest like Adrian and stop writing? -NOOOO! definitely NOT! ;) I know sth **better**!_

_you're probably all wondering who that guy is, who got to say the last words ^^ you can find out NOW in my NEW STORY: "**Night**" (*evil laughter* I'm not planning on letting you all go so easily! XD)_

**_I hope I'll hear from you per your lovely reviews in my new story too! ^^_**

_-Mulan-_

_PS. this last chapter was written in **Seth's POV** - just so you know =)_


End file.
